Highlands neighbors drop petitions to hold 'moist' election as Summer Task Force becomes permanent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Neighbors who launched petitions to hold a "moist" vote in the Highlands suspended their efforts after coming to an agreement with the city that will make the Summer Task Force permanent.

Last month, residents in five precincts near Bardstown Road filed notices seeking the election to change how some bars operate by requiring them to generate most of their revenue from food sales instead of alcohol.

If the election happened and was passed by voters, bars in the affected precincts would have been required to generate at least 70% of their revenue from food sales in order to serve alcohol.

Supporters of the petition said the proposal was aimed at addressing late-night disturbances and violence that have occurred outside some Highlands bars in recent years.

The proposal was met with pushback from businesses and the Louisville Hospitality Association, who said more than 20 businesses would be forced to close if neighbors voted to make the neighborhood "moist" because it would not be feasible to run their businesses.

In a news release Tuesday afternoon, Councilperson Ben Reno-Weber, D-8, said the groups suspended the petitions after reaching an agreement with the hospitality association on a "collaborative plan that addresses immediate public safety concerns and longer-term solutions."

Immediate actions, Reno-Weber's office said, include:

Continuing the partnership with Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, PARC and other Metro Departments under the Summer Task Force.
Encourage Alcoholic Beverage Control to consider public sentiment on issuance and renewal of 4 a.m. licenses, especially where bad actors have a history of noncompliance and/or critical incidents.
Creating a designated Council Fund by District 8 dedicated to safety investments along Bardstown Road.
Continuing to work with ABC to proactively address problem bars and restaurants.
Withdrawing the moist petitions immediately and not submit signatures for any ballot initiative in 2026.

Longer-term initiatives include:

An ongoing "Raise the Bar" partnership between the Louisville Hospitality Association and ABC to continue education training for bars and restaurants on de-escalation, safety and the role of the businesses in creating and preserving public safety.
Participation in the creation of a long-term strategic plan for the Highlands that "honors the heritage and history of a neighborhood with a wide range of eclectic residents and businesses."

"Bardstown Road is the backbone of the Highlands. Its success depends on a delicate balance between business and residential interests, but one group (even one type of business) can't succeed at the expense of others. That's what balance means," the neighborhood petitioners said in a statement. "Highlands neighbors who filed requests to circulate 'wet-moist' petitions in three precincts represented a broad range of voices with a shared goal to ensure that residential voices are heard in shaping a future for Bardstown Road that serves all: a diverse range of businesses, visitors, and neighbors. We see that happening today and based on commitments made here we are suspending our efforts to pursue a wet-moist vote in 2026."

In April, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey announced announced a Summer Task Force of 27 officers who will rotate monitoring the busiest areas of the city, including the Highlands.

The task force was created in response to problems at Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge, as well as entertainment districts like the Highlands.

Officers rotate around the different districts and areas where they see the most crime, with at least 13 officers working seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Along Bardstown Road, the task force includes mounted patrol officers, police in four-wheelers and cars, and on foot. Additional lighting was also installed in an effort to deter crime.

"We will continue to explore every option to ensure people are safe, businesses thrive, and neighbors and rule-following establishments can co-exist to maintain a vibrant and thriving neighborhood," Greenberg said in a news release Tuesday.

Last month, Humphrey didn't hold back in his message to the crowds of people he said are causing trouble in the Highlands.

"This is not OK," Humphrey said. "If you can't get right, don't go out."

Speaking about the department's Summer Task Force, Humphrey addressed a busy weekend on Bardstown Road that saw dozens of arrests, citations, two shootings and a local bar's liquor license suspended.

"If you want to go out and act stupid, I don't have the cure for stupid except for handcuffs," he said. "We will do what we can to make sure people stay orderly. They have a good time, but when they don't we're going to be there to take care of it."

In June, Louisville Metro ABC suspended the alcoholic beverage license of Atomic, a bar on Bardstown Road, following a shooting that drew a large police response to the entertainment district. The Emergency Suspension Order halted alcohol sales at the business following a weekend of violence and disorder along the Bardstown Road corridor.

Louisville Metro ABC Director Brad Silveria said in a statement at the time the suspension stemmed from a shooting around 3:43 a.m. Sunday, June 21, as Atomic staff were clearing patrons from the bar.

He said "two patrons were in an altercation" that began inside Atomic, which escalated "to a shooting incident."

Before the suspension was issued, Atomic co-owner Dustin Hensley publicly rejected claims that the late-night fights in the Highlands involved patrons from his bar.

"The fights that are occurring throughout the neighborhood do not involve our customers,” Hensley said in a statement. "These are being caused by people that are simply coming into the neighborhood to walk the sidewalks and cruise the streets."

Atomic reopened Friday, July 10, after ABC lifted the bar's liquor license suspension after it agreed to make mandatory safety changes.

The required safety measures for Atomic include an earlier closing time, enhanced security and camera access as "conditions for reopening." Metro ABC said the bar will now close at 3:30 a.m., with final entry at 2:15 a.m. and last call at 3:15 a.m. The bar is also required to add more off-duty police officers to "strengthen the security presence."

Additionally, Atomic must provide LMPD with "real-time access" to the bar's on-site security cameras.

This story will be updated.