BYOB in Ocean City Goes to Public Vote on May 8

A yearlong and often-passionate debate over allowing diners to bring their own beer and wine to restaurants in the famously dry town of Ocean City will end at the polls on May 8.

City Council refused to endorse the idea in a unanimous vote at public meeting Thursday night, and Council's rejection sets up a binding public question in the May municipal election two months away. Registered Ocean City voters will decide the question.

If a simple majority vote "yes," BYOB ("Bring Your Own Bottle") restaurants will be allowed by May 28, and the new ordinance could not be amended or repealed within three years (except by another public referendum or initiative).

If voters say "no," Ocean City would remain the same dry town is has since its founding as a Methodist retreat in 1879.

Through deed restrictions and various laws passed throughout the 1900s, Ocean City has prohibited the manufacture, sale and public consumption of alcohol. At the same time, Ocean City has earned a distinction as "America's Greatest Family Resort," a brand, a lifestyle and a community that many property and business owners and visitors want fiercely to protect.

But a group of restaurant owners that started the initiative in January 2011 suggest that allowing BYOB restaurants would enhance the entire business community by attracting more diners, shoppers and visitors year-round.

The BYOB supporters drafted a petition that included an amended ordinance that includes the following provisions (see attached PDF to read the entire petition and proposed new ordinance; and the existing ordinances regulating alcohol):

• Qualified establishments would have to: be licensed by the Health Department, have a regularly employed wait staff of at least one, have tables with table coverings, and not be reserved primarily for private functions.
• Any outdoor seating would have to be at least five feet from public rights of way and be separated by visual screening at least four feet high.
• The ordinance would allow only unopened containers.
• The ordinance would allow only the consumption of wine and beer (and other malt alcoholic beverages).
• BYOB hours would be limited to 2 to 11 p.m.
• Carrying coolers into establishments would be prohibited.
• Boardwalk restaurants would prohibited from allowing BYOB.
• Individual restaurant owners would be able to prohibit BYOB at their own establishments.

A committee of petitioners succeeded in collecting 382 signatures of registered Ocean City voters, and City Clerk Linda MacIntyre certified that at least 352 (the threshold) were valid.

City Council's vote on Thursday night was considered a second reading of the BYOB ordinance. If Council had voted "yes," BYOB would have become law without voter input. Because they voted "no," the question goes to the public.

At the meeting, council members were in agreement that a question of such magnitude should be decided by voters.

• "This is a decision that cannot be made by us," Councilman Scott Ping said.
• "This issue is incredibly divisive," Councilman Tony Wilson said. "This needs to go to referendum."
• "It's the fastest and most foolproof way to get this on the ballot," Councilman Keith Hartzell said of City's Council's "no" vote. "The petitioners have done their job."
• "Maybe once and for all, it will be out there how Ocean City really feels about this," Councilwoman Karen Bergman said.
• Councilman Roy Wagner and Councilman John Kemenosh expressed their opposition to BYOB but said the question should be decided by voters.
• "Either way, we'll have to move on together," Council President Michael Allegretto said of the May 8 vote.

While organizers of the current BYOB initiative have said they will respect the vote of Ocean City residents on May 8, nothing in New Jersey statutes prevents the public from submitting a similar petition at any time.