Lawmakers Eye Lower Makefield Alcohol-Sales Vote

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — Lawmakers who represent Lower Makefield Township are looking ahead to a vote that could legalize alcohol sales in the township for the first time in 70 years.

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, state Rep. Perry Warren and local business owners will hold a press conference Friday at DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies in Lower Makefield.

While the conference's topic has not been announced, it's likely they'll be speaking out in favor of a referendum that could allow Lower Makefield restaurants to sell alcohol.

Restaurants in Lower Makefield have not been allowed to sell alcohol since a 1949 vote.

But the issue has heated up in recent years, when local business leaders have pushed to put a referendum on the ballot to change the local law.

They got a boost last year, though, when a new state law made getting such referendums on the ballot easier. Legislation by Santarsiero was rolled into another bill and signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf in July.

The legislation reduced the number of signatures needed to get a referendum on the ballot from 25 percent of the highest vote total cast for any office in the municipality (for Lower Makefield, that would be 2,930) to a flat 500 resident signatures.

Lower Makefield currently is the only municipality in Bucks County that does not allow the sale of alcoholic beverages, according to Santarsiero's office.