Residents of Lakeside-Lester Park who favor keeping alcohol sales outside of their neighborhood may finally get to express their feelings on the ballot.
Duluth Mayor Don Ness said Monday that he intends to propose asking residents in the four Lakeside-Lester Park precincts on their November ballots whether they want the law changed to allow alcohol sales there.
"Then, from that result we would be able to make a clear and concise statement one way or another," Ness said.
Ness said because there are so many issues on the legislative docket for this year's bonding bill, he'd rather not try to deal with this one as well.
The previous City Council twice passed a resolution requesting the Legislature give the city permission to change the law. Former Mayor Herb Bergson vetoed the resolution the first time, so the council overrode the veto.
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The vote was the first of three steps toward changing a law in place since 1893, forbidding sales of alcohol in the Lakeside-Lester Park area when it was annexed by Duluth.
Now it's up to the Legislature to decide whether to give Duluth permission to abolish the law. Before the Legislature could take up the matter, Ness will ask the council to see what residents of the affected area think.
Several councilors said they're likely to go along with the decision of the majority.
"A precinct-specific referendum is a good idea," said 1st District Councilor Todd Fedora, whose constituents reside in the affected area. "It puts the issue to rest, once and for all."
If voters say they want the law changed, and the Legislature approves the idea, it would then return to the council for a final decision.
