Boston City Council unanimously approves liquor license equity home rule petition

BOSTON -- March 22, 2023, Boston City Council unanimously approved a home rule petition to expand liquor licensing in historically underserved neighborhoods. The petition, Docket 0133, was co-sponsored by Councillors Brian Worrell, Ruthzee Louijeune, and Ricardo Arroyo and would authorize the Licensing Board to grant up to three all-alcohol licenses and two malt-and-wine licenses per targeted zip code over five years, with unissued licenses rolling over annually rather than lapsing. Councillor Worrell noted that Mattapan holds only eight of the city's roughly 1,090 on-premise licenses, while Blue Hill Avenue holds just six. The council also referred to committee a proposed citywide ban on miniature alcohol bottle sales, with Councillor Arroyo citing Chelsea's 2018 ban, which he said cut alcohol-related medical emergencies by nearly half, as a model, and noted that at least 70 Boston businesses already carry Licensing Board restrictions on miniature bottle sales. An ordinance to add guinea pigs to the city's existing pet shop sales ban was also introduced by Councillor Liz Breadon, who cited a 37 percent surge in guinea pig surrenders at the MSPCA since the pandemic began.