Barring a reversal of city policy, Draper residents will never be able to have a drink in a tavern or party at a social club inside city limits.
But before long they might be able to stop at Draper's very own liquor store and buy as much booze as they want.State officials say the south Salt Lake Valley needs another liquor store and has identified rapidly growing Draper as the perfect place to put it. But that doesn't sit well with the City Council.
"I would just as soon not see it coming," Mayor Elaine Redd said Wednesday. "It's my feeling (the council) would oppose it and do what they can . . . . I feel sure we would certainly explore any avenue to not have it."
At the urging of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Gov. Mike Leavitt has included in his 1996-97 budget proposal a request for an $835,300 revenue bond to build a liquor store somewhere in the south valley. It would be the state's 36th liquor store and the 17th in Salt Lake County. Currently, however, only one Salt Lake County store is located south of 7000 South - the Sandy store at 8948 S. State.
"The need for another liquor store in the southern part of the valley was apparent when we did a survey with the University of Utah over a year ago," said Ken Wynn, director of the department. "With the growth going south, we're going to need to have more outlets out there."
Scott Mecham, a capital facilities analyst with the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, said the south valley's population is large enough to justify three liquor stores. Wynn said the south valley store would be about 4,000 square feet, the same size as the Murray store at 5056 S. State.
Wynn said he spoke with officials in Draper, Riverton, South Jordan and West Jordan last fall. Because Draper seemed slightly more receptive to the idea than the other three cities, he said, it was penciled in as the tentative site. Wynn said he hopes to meet with Draper officials again soon to find a suitable location away from residential areas. Mecham said the preferred location would be within the I-15 corridor, perhaps on Minuteman Road.
"It's true that we did not say flat out `No,' " Draper City Manager Dave Campbell said. "But I told (Wynn) that the council was going to be very difficult to convince that we should have a liquor store out here."
Draper ordinances limit the number of grocery stores that can sell beer and wine coolers to one per every 1,000 people, and the number of restaurants that can serve alcohol to one per every 2,000 residents. But the city does not permit bars or social clubs under any circumstances. The city's population is estimated at 10,000.
Wynn said state law says his department must "consult with local officials" before building a new store, "but nobody seems to know what that means. I guess if we want to put in a liquor store we could just do it."
Mecham said the state can establish a store in Draper without the city's permission, but would need its approval to conduct a competitive bid process.
When asked whether it is fair to ask Draper's growing list of newcomers - some of whom may be drinkers - to drive all the way to Sandy to buy alcohol, Redd said, "You've got a point there. I think what I might want to do is take a (survey) of the citizens and see how they feel about the situation."
Councilman Darrell Smith said he doesn't see why residents who want alcohol can't go elsewhere to get it.
"It certainly isn't that far out of the way," Smith said of the Sandy store. "Most of them come that way when they drive home."