Editorial: Reasonable limits on taverns

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005 | 7:32 a.m.

It is easy to understand why Councilman Robert Eliason believes there are plenty of taverns in North Las Vegas. There are more than 70 bars there, with more than half of them in the ward that he represents, an area that includes downtown and the older parts of the city.

The large presence of taverns, Eliason reasons, deters some sit-down restaurants from opening in North Las Vegas because taverns with their bar food are too much competition. "In the studies we have done, the citizens have asked for more sit-down restaurants," Eliason told the Sun's Brian Wargo in a Sunday story. "They want a restaurant with good food."

A proposal will be considered at today's North Las Vegas City Council meeting that would significantly restrict the number of new taverns, requiring them to be located farther away from each other and farther away from residential areas -- both sensible restrictions.

In addition, instead of the current limit of 10 new taverns getting a permit every year, just one would be allowed annually under the proposal. But a limit of just one tavern a year seems excessive, particularly if one of the newer areas of the city doesn't have any or many taverns.

Nonetheless, an "anything goes" attitude, which says there shouldn't be limits on the number of taverns, is wrong. Most cities have learned long ago of the benefits to their communities of regulating the number of taverns so they don't overwhelm their population.

The bottom line is that as North Las Vegas continues to grow, and more and more families move into the city, officials there will seek to improve the quality of life -- and that means increasing efforts to lure more sit-down restaurants and allowing fewer taverns than has been the case before.