Council moves to revise alcohol-sale restrictions. 

By Anders Frieberg
[email protected]

All you can drink could become a new reality at community events.

The Iowa City City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to pass the first consideration of an ordinance that would affect “all-you-can-drink” alcoholic-beverage specials.

Iowa City has long banned such specials because of the binge drinking officials fear it could encourage, but the ordinance will provide an exemption for certain types of events.

The ordinance comes amid several community festivals, such as the Friday Night Concert Series — put on by the Summer of the Arts — and the North Side Oktoberfest.

Both would fall under the exemption for alcohol sale limitations under the ordinance proposal.

City Councilor Kingsley Botchway pushed for the ordinance on Tuesday.

He introduced the ordinance and said, “It’s a big deal, a good deal.”

Mayor Matt Hayek said the proposed ordinance would not allow “all-you-can-drink” specials back into bars in the city.

“Our ordinances prohibit all you can drink specials, and that was originally meant to address specials in bars,” Hayek said. “The set fee allows people to drink as much as they want, and experience shows that that causes bad outcomes.”

The City Council proposed altering the City Code in conjunction with changes from the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division, which would redefine and regulate special events that sell alcohol.

In the past, Iowa City hasn’t considered events, such as festivals, exempt from all-you-can-drink alcohol sales. There aren’t concise definitions for special events concerning sales limitations at these events currently.

Hayek said the ordinance met with some skepticism before being introduced to the council.

“Recently there have been taste-testings in various places, which our staff and the people who put them on have indicated cause problems,” he said. “But we realized this is inconsistent with what is on the books. This item is intended to clean up our ordinance to allow for that kind of event to occur.”

The most recent community event to fall under this would be the Arts/Jazz/Soul Fest hosted on the Pentacrest. The next such event will be another Friday Night Concert Series this Friday.

Hayek said as part of the ordinance, the city will clarify exemptions of limitations on alcohol sales at special community events. 

“Ultimately, it is a loosening of an ordinance to accommodate an activity that we find to not be problematic,” he said.

Councilor Jim Throgmorton said the ordinance would not allow for excess consumption of alcohol.

“It permits tasting of varieties of alcohol but not unlimited quantities. There’s a big difference between sampling and binge drinking to excess,” Throgmorton said. “We are not authorizing drinking unlimited quantities of alcohol.”