Long Valley Mayor Joins Push For More Liquor Licenses

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Washington Township Mayor Matthew Murello was among 90 mayors across New Jersey to join Gov. Phil Murphy’s efforts to overhaul the state’s liquor laws and phase out the cap on licenses.

According to Mayors For Liquor License Reform, "exorbitant" license costs, as well as a lack of availability for municipalities to acquire new ones due to the existing population cap, have long harmed local businesses.

The group joins a number of restaurant owners, breweries and chefs in calling for industry reform.

“The present system favors the economically advantaged while hampering mom-and-pop businesses and towns with smaller populations,” said the mayors’ coalition in an open letter. “These reforms are long overdue and all the more pressing in light of the devastating impact the COVID- 19 pandemic has had on the hospitality industry in general and the distress it has caused for downtowns and Main Streets throughout New Jersey.”

Current New Jersey liquor license laws limit local governments to issuing one consumption liquor license for every 3,000 residents. In his State of the State address, Murphy called for changes to the system and released a proposal in February that gradually increases the number of new licenses available in municipalities until the current cap is reached.

Mayors across the state and around Morris County are represented in the mayors' coalition.

Democrats in the state Senate and Assembly have introduced legislation to make some of these changes. Here’s what is proposed:

• Phase out the population cap by reducing it by 10 percent for five years, which would allow cities and towns to issue more licenses over time. After the phaseout, licenses would go uncapped and issued as needed, and the resale of licenses would be prohibited. The current proposal does not make allowances for towns with fewer than 3,000 residents.
• Establish administrative prices and fees for new licenses based on business size. The ABC would set prices and review them annually, while granting municipalities the right to assess local fees.
• Expand the rights of license holders for breweries, distilleries and wineries. The plan would establish a new consumption license with expanded privileges that wouldn't get capped or restricted. Current license holders could get the new class of license for a fee.
• Create a tax credit of up to $50,000 to support businesses, such as restaurants, that already paid significant money for their current liquor licenses.
• Allow municipalities to renew, or deny renewal, of an inactive license to sell alcohol if they find the licensee has not made a good faith attempt to put it to use.
• Keep the local review process in place.

This proposal "would also expand the rights of holders of certain brewery, cidery and meadery, distillery, and winery licenses," many of which have restrictions on events and what they can serve.

State-imposed restrictions, which took effect in July, have put New Jersey's thriving microbrewery scene in a bind.

The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) regulations restrict businesses to 25 on-site events and 52 private parties per year. Each company is allowed to attend up to 12 off-site events. Prior to the ruling, breweries could hold an unlimited number of events.

Breweries must also provide walking or virtual tours of their facilities before serving beer to customers, and they are no longer permitted to collaborate with food trucks or vendors or serve coffee.

Cindy DeRama, the owner of Twin Elephant Brewing in Chatham, previously told Patch that she believes that the new restrictions would harm the role of small businesses in the community.

"Being limited to 25 special events includes limiting live music, charity events, local artist pop-ups, etc. Breweries become part of their local communities and support their towns and local businesses and vice versa," DeRama said.

With reporting by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson.