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Tempe City Council OKs park beer permits for non-residents by Dianna M. Náñez - Jul. 16, 2011 08:15 AM The Arizona Republic Beer drinkers, rejoice. The Tempe City Council has cleared the way for non-residents to apply for permits to crack open a cold one at neighborhood parks. But it's going to cost them. Non-residents will have to fork over $20 for the one-day malt-beverage permit. The cost of imbibing went up for residents, too. The permit for Tempe residents will increase $5, to $15. The fee to drink at the parks' corporate areas, which are large enough to host more than 100 people, increased $10, to $25. Tempe allows permits for beer at areas in Kiwanis, Papago, Clark, Escalante, Hollis, Jaycee and Daley parks. Until last month, only Tempe residents were allowed to buy beer permits. The permit allowed residents to serve beer at select parks when they rented ramadas or ball fields. Tempe park ramadas are popular spots for hosting family reunions, picnics and birthday parties, as well as community group and business gatherings. On June 2, the council amended a Tempe ordinance to allow non-residents to buy beer permits. Last week, the council approved the new permit fees, which go into effect Aug. 29. The permit for non-residents was promoted as a way to enhance revenue after a survey in the spring showed that many Valley cities did not ban non-residents from purchasing beer permits, said Travis Dray, Tempe's director of community services. "If you were a non-resident, you could rent a (Tempe) ramada but you couldn't purchase a beer permit," Dray said. "It was a very old ordinance that was in one of our city codes that we could change so that it's more inviting." The survey showed that Chandler, Mesa, Glendale and Phoenix had such permits for non-residents with fees ranging from $14 to $28. Tempe expects the new fees to raise an additional $7,800 in revenue annually. In fiscal 2009-10, Tempe sold 965 permits for a total of $9,880. "We're being good stewards of our budget," Dray said. "Right now any money is helpful in maintaining our levels of service." |