After months of delays, Spokane relaxes regulations for alcohol at street festivals

Parents who want to enjoy an alcoholic beverage at a Spokane street festival will soon no longer have to do so in a separate area from their kids.

The Spokane City Council on Monday passed the Family Friendly Festivals ordinance, relaxing the city’s rules around drinking at public events.

Previously, Spokane had significantly stricter laws than the state with regard to serving alcohol at large special events, according to Councilmen Paul Dillon and Zack Zappone, who sponsored Monday’s ordinance. One of the primary effects of the stricter local rules was that parents either had to leave their children outside of a beer garden or abstain altogether.

“This ordinance allows families like mine to stay together at street festivals, making our events more family-friendly and accessible to all who want to attend our great events,” Zappone wrote in January when the ordinance was introduced. “This change will bring more revenue to our local nonprofits and businesses and is supported by a diverse group of Spokane organizations.”

The ordinance was deferred repeatedly while Dillon and Zappone worked with the Spokane fire and police departments, local organizations and other council members to hammer out details. For instance, the original proposal would have removed any requirement for adults drinking alcohol to wear a wristband, with which SPD raised concerns, Dillon said.

Once signed by the mayor into law, the changes will greatly reduce the regulatory burdens and physical barriers meant to separate adults consuming alcohol from the rest of an event space or festival, more closely aligning the city’s restrictions with those required by the state, Zappone said Tuesday.

In most cases, the changes would not apply to events held on private property or city parks, which require different permissions from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board. But nonprofits, like those that operate the annual Pig Out in the Park or Terrain Gallery events, are able to host events affected by the relaxed rules in some park areas, such as Riverfront Park and the Howard Street Promenade.