Beginning Nov. 1, sales of fortified beer and wine products will be banned in the University District. Malt liquors such as Colt 45 Ice and Olde English 800 will no longer be sold. Neither will wines such as Thunderbird.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) has designated the U-District as an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA). The Liquor Control Board adopted the AIA rules in July 1999 as a "tool for communities experiencing significant alcohol-related problems."
According to Seattle City Council-member Tom Rasmussen, the problem in the University District is "chronic public inebriation."
Pioneer Square adopted an AIA in 2002 banning the sale of single cans of beer and alcoholic beverages from 6 to 9 a.m.
The city of Tacoma adopted similar resolutions in the Hilltop neighborhood. Articles in The Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Seattle Weekly have all pointed out that the results from such regulations have not been ideal.
According to a Times article from Aug. 31, "City officials have admitted that the strategy has not been effective."
Similarly, a Times piece from June 29 on the Tacoma ban stated that there is approximately the same number of "chronic street alcoholics."
Rasmussen agreed that the Pioneer Square regulations had not had a significant impact on the neighborhood, but he remains hopeful of the new regulations. He said that a flaw of the Pioneer Square AIA was that it did not cover enough of an area.
The new AIA designations cover the University District, as well as a 5.7-square-mile section of the city core, including Downtown Seattle, Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill. The hope is that people will not be easily able to wander into a nearby neighborhood to purchase these products.
The University District AIA is framed by Northeast 60th Street in the north, Northeast Northlake Way to the south, Latona Avenue Northeast to the west, and 15th Avenue Northeast to the east.
Rasmussen said that if the "chronic public inebriants" who purchase these products disperse to other neighborhoods than the problem becomes "far less serious for any one neighborhood." One drunk on the streets in an area is better than 10, he explained.
Scott Soules, who owns Soules Properties and is the president of the University District Business Improvement Area, said he notes issues with "the usual stuff," such as empty bottles and cans strewn about, that are a result of public inebriation.
Soules' family has been involved in the University District for three generations, he said, and he believes the problem with public drunkenness has increased over the last three years. He even noted that the increase may be due to displacement from Pioneer Square's AIA. He still hopes that the increased AIA will have its "desired effect," he said.
Don Schulze, owner of Shultzy's Sausage and president of the Greater University Chamber of Commerce, has hopes for the AIA, as well. He does not think that it will solve all the issues with public inebriants in the area, but said, "I just don't think they'll be that out of control."
The University District has actually been an AIA since August 2004, but compliance was voluntary. Markets that sold the banned products were asked to sign Good Neighbor Agreements, agreeing to follow the AIA rules.
Campus Food Mart, located between Northeast 42nd and 43rd streets on University Way Northeast, was one such market to sign the agreement, and it no longer carries fortified beers and wines. Despite the store's voluntary compliance, the woman working was unwilling to be interviewed.
Employees of other markets in the U-District declined interviews or deferred comment.
None of these markets had malt liquor or fortified wines on their shelves, but still had strong, cheap beers such as Natural Ice and Keystone Ice. A few were no longer selling strong alcoholic beverages of any kind.
Also, during a recent walk-through of the neighborhood, very few people could be identified as those the AIA targets, and only one had visible possession of alcohol.
Other than a few bottles of wine still legal under the new regulations that a janitor picked out of the plants around the Safeco Tower, there were no empty bottles or excessive litter on the streets.
According to a City of Seattle press release, $42,000 has been allotted to study the before and after status of the new AIAs. As of Aug. 19, Rasmussen assured that Washington State University was conducting the study in a "timely way."
Rasmussen and Soules both concurred that this policy is not going to prevent all of the city's problems with chronic public inebriation. Soules hopes that various public health agencies will be more proactive in helping prevent "putting people in public spaces who clearly are not functioning in a rational way."
Rasmussen noted various other city projects attempting to address the problem of public inebriation, such as the 1811 Eastlake House. According to a Sept. 6 piece in the Seattle Weekly, residents of the house are "selected" to move in and allowed to "drink to their heart's content." The goal is to keep drunks off of the streets.
"What we're trying to do is help neighborhoods," Rasmussen said.
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