Downtown Spokane convenience stores asked to remove single-serving alcohol

Spokane will ask downtown convenience stores to voluntarily remove single-serving alcoholic beverages from their stores and stop selling any alcohol after midnight, citing chronic littering, accompanying drug use and violent crime in the area.
An ordinance unanimously approved Monday by the Spokane City Council creates a voluntary Alcohol Impact Area, an intermediary step required by state law that could become mandatory and legally enforceable if conditions don’t improve within six months.
The law only applies within the boundaries of the downtown police precinct, which runs roughly from Interstate 90 to the south, the Spokane River to the north, Highbridge Park to the west and South Sherman Street to the east.
These added restrictions previously existed downtown and in the East Central neighborhood, but lapsed in 2022, likely “inadvertently,” according to administration officials. Deputy City Administrator Maggie Yates has previously said the city made a mistake while updating its code to mirror changes in state law.
However, Councilman Jonathan Bingle on Monday stated the council, not former Mayor Nadine Woodward, ended the law, and that it was ended knowingly after debate.
“All the attempts to paint this as ‘this was a Nadine problem,’ that is factually inaccurate,” he said.
In the three years since the restrictions lapsed, alcohol-related incidents involving the police or fire departments have grown 64% in downtown Spokane, according to a news release. Officials also pointed to a study from the International Journal of Drug Policy that indicated every additional store where alcohol could be purchased and consumed off-site – anywhere other than a bar, essentially – was associated with a 16.6% increase in overdoses in the neighborhood.
The proposal would only cover downtown Spokane, as city officials argue East Central has not reported an increase in problems after the law lapsed.
Councilman Paul Dillon noted Monday that other neighborhoods have already requested that the law be expanded in the future.
The ordinance will come into effect 30 days after it is signed into law by the mayor.