SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board voted unanimously to approve a more stringent policy for organizations and businesses applying for one-day liquor licenses.
The new policy limits the number of one-day liquor licenses an organization can apply for in a year and requires all servers operating under a one-day license to be TIPS certified — a state-mandated certification for those who sell or serve alcoholic beverages.
Additionally, the policy requires servers to provide customers aged 21 or older with wristbands or other marking features to prevent underage drinking. It also requires temporary liquor license applicants to apply 14 days in advance of an event.
“That will also have to coincide with Select Board meetings. We would just want to make sure that if a person sends us the application, there is an upcoming board meeting within 14 days,” Swampscott Police Executive Assistant Angelica Noble said.
Presenting the new liquor license policy, Noble noted that the town has approved an increasing quantity of one-day liquor licenses year-by-year, with only four licenses issued in 2021, eight issued in 2022, and 28 issued so far in 2023.
Noble added that all special liquor license applicants must now procure their alcohol from an authorized distributor in accordance with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission’s regulations. The policy also specifies that applicants must provide a floor plan outlining where alcoholic beverages are served and consumed.
“The beverages must be purchased from an authorized source and delivered to the event. So, for example, if Cafe Avellino was hosting, she couldn’t bring alcohol bottles from Cafe Avellino. She actually has to make a special order,” Noble said.
Town officials agreed to work on creating the policy this summer after discussions on temporary liquor license approvals for the town’s Summer Concert Series prompted debate over the volume of town-hosted events where wine and beer are served and the potential safety and security implications associated with the sale of alcohol.
“I think it’s an important message that was sent to our youth that we don’t have to have alcohol at every function to have fun and that we could have a good time and enjoy music and we don’t have to have a beer in our hand,” said Select Board member Katie Phelan, who voted in opposition to Granite Coast Brewing Company’s one-day liquor license in June.
After Noble’s presentation Wednesday evening, Phelan asked Noble how she recommended the Town enforce the regulations, adding that common wine and beer regulations, such as consumption only being allowed in a fenced-in area or beverages being sold open, are often broken at large events.
Noble responded that police stationed at an event will most likely be responsible for liquor sale enforcement and that police and firefighters will reserve the right to stop an event if they determine that regulations are being broken. Noble also told the Select Board that it will maintain the right to reject future licenses under the policy if a vendor violates the policy.
“We’ve all been to events where they hand you two beers, and one’s not open. Everything’s supposed to say stay in that fenced-in area, but we’ve all been to events where there are obviously people drinking outside of the fenced-in area. While maybe no harm has come from that, there’s also a policy for a reason — to prevent harm from happening,” Phelan said.
