Boulder – Nearly 15 months after a University of Colorado freshman died from alcohol poisoning, City Council members on Tuesday endorsed a list of alcohol initiatives aimed at curbing the drinking culture.
Ranging from easy to controversial, the approvals are a culmination of efforts that the city commissioned immediately after Lynn “Gordie” Bailey died after drinking at a fraternity initiation.
“It is really just one step in the process,” said Jan Otto, a member of one of two subcommittees that submitted 18 recommendations to the council. “But it’s a significant step. What council has done is begin to take steps to change Boulder’s culture.”
The council voted unanimously to create anti-alcohol-abuse advertising and fliers, promote alcohol-free events, begin creating a five-year master plan for alcohol and influence state-level initiatives, among other steps.
“Even all these things are not going to stop the nationwide trend of binge drinking,” City Manager Frank Bruno said after Tuesday’s meeting. “But even with that reality, it’s got to help.”
Not all of the proposed initiatives are popular. Two weeks ago, blistering and lengthy public comment against a proposed moratorium on drinking establishments near CU forced council members to delay their decisions until Tuesday.
The council heard from several business owners in the University Hill district who warned that the moratorium could stifle business on “the Hill.”
“We believe that the number of liquor establishments in the city or their proximity to the university has nothing to do with overconsumption of alcohol,” Brittany Morris told the council two weeks ago on behalf of the Colorado Restaurant Association.
Councilman Andy Schultheiss on Tuesday acknowledged the “enormously emotional issue.”
But Councilwoman Crystal Gray said it is important for Boulder to move forward, saying she did not want to see another student die from alcohol poisoning.
She said a soon-to-be-published Harvard study “is going to show that there is an increase in the binge drinking – a dramatic increase. I just want to make sure that we move along with all haste, because it is serious.”
After lengthy discussion, the council voted 6-3 to look at a conditional-use review for alcohol establishments, paying particular attention to areas near CU.
“There is potential there for the city to adopt new restrictions in new places,” Boulder Chamber of Commerce spokesman Dan Powers said after the meeting. “The concern is that new restrictions would not impact current issues or current problems. … On the plus side, they removed the ‘500-foot moratorium’ for the time being.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
