Pittsburgh's liquor-license limit struck down
PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh's law department must decide whether to appeal a judge's ruling this week that struck down an ordinance that sought to limit the number of liquor licenses within a given neighborhood.
PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh's law department must decide whether to appeal a judge's ruling this week that struck down an ordinance that sought to limit the number of liquor licenses within a given neighborhood.
Allegheny County Court Judge Joseph James said the ordinance infringes on the power of the state Liquor Control Board to determine where and how many licensed establishments exist.
The owner of a Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant and another man who wants to open a bar challenged the legality of the ordinance. Passed in 2007, it allowed City Council to ban licensed businesses once a neighborhood reached a "saturation point" of one license per 50,000 square feet.
The ordinance targeted the South Side, which has 63 bars in a several-block area. - AP