City of Little Rock Authorizes Public Drinking in New Entertainment District Seven Days a Week
On Tuesday the City Board of Directors in Little Rock authorized public drinking in a new, “temporary” entertainment district.
The city’s new resolution allows public drinking at the Breckenridge Village business property in Little Rock seven days a week, from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM through December 31.
The city could extend the temporary, public drinking authorization by passing another resolution in the future.
Act 812 of 2019 let cities create “entertainment districts” where alcohol can be carried and consumed publicly on streets and sidewalks. These districts can be either permanent or temporary under the law.
In 2021 the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 874 letting cities in dry counties authorize public drinking if the city has a private club that serves alcohol within the city limits.
And Act 34 of 2023 further expanded public drinking by letting cities and towns without advertising and promotion taxes on hotels and restaurants establish their own entertainment districts.
Family Council strongly opposed each of these laws, because of the harm that public drinking causes to communities.
In 2019 El Dorado’s city council voted to authorize public drinking in an entertainment district covering approximately nine blocks downtown.
However, at a meeting last year, El Dorado City Council Member Frank Hash reportedly said that disorderly and unruly behavior had become a recurring problem on the weekends in El Dorado’s public drinking district.
The El Dorado News-Times also wrote that law enforcement has faced challenges policing El Dorado’s entertainment district, and that vandalism, fighting, and other types of disruptive behavior were concerning issues. The city council voted unanimously to shut down El Dorado’s public drinking district in June as a result.
As we have said for years, public drinking is a scourge on the community.
It raises serious concerns about drunk driving and public safety.
Public drinking doesn’t attract new businesses, bolster the economy, or revitalize Main Street. It hurts neighborhoods and families. It simply does not belong in Arkansas’ communities.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
