Louisville survey on bar safety 'unfairly targets the Highlands,' business leaders say

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bar owners and Louisville hospitality leaders said a community feedback survey on bar licenses in the Highlands an attack on Louisville's nightlife.

Bardstown Road in the Highlands has drawn attention throughout the summer due to street takeovers, vandalism and noise complaints. This prompted city leaders to work with Louisville Metro's Alcoholic Beverage Control to create a public input survey about bars and restaurants in the area.

Now, Louisville hospitality leaders are expressing their concerns about the survey.

"We feel it very unfairly targets the Highlands, almost to a predatory standpoint," said Sean Vandevander, spokesperson for the Louisville Hospitality Association. "And the fact that the Highlands was singled out indicates to us that this is a political issue now. This is no longer being addressed as a safety issue or a police issue."

The survey includes several questions including "Do you think there are too many businesses that sell or serve alcohol in the Bardstown Road area of the Highlands? There are also questions about how late businesses should be allowed to sell alcohol.

"If we start targeting bars and closing down bars early, businesses will go out of business," Vandevander said. "Servers, hostesses, waitresses, bartenders, cocktailers will all lose their jobs."

On Aug. 27, Metro Councilman Ben Reno-Weber spoke about the survey at the Highland Commerce Guild meeting.

"The goal of this survey was to be able to absorb community feedback in a way that could be heard by ABC," Reno-Weber said. "This is not about a broad 'We're going to do something for the whole corridor.' This is about individual places and how do we collect community input," says Reno-Weber.

In the survey, ABC said it can't deny a liquor license just because someone protests it, but it will look at the reasons for the protests and the quantity of protests.

Hospitality leaders said if bars and restaurants are limited, it will hurt Louisville's tourism.

"That comes down to police presence and policing the streets," Vandevander said. "And bar and restaurant owners cannot and will not be held responsible for the safety issues of the city of Louisville."

Mayor Craig Greenberg said the survey will be open until Sep. 15. To see the survey for yourself, click here.

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