The City of Coral Springs allows the sale and consumption of beer and wine at its special events. {City of Coral Springs}
The Tamarac city commission on Wednesday will consider an ordinance that would allow alcohol to be served and consumed at special events in city parks and facilities—marking a potential shift from a decades-old prohibition.
If the ordinance passes, a second reading is scheduled for June 25.
First codified in 1975, the city’s current ordinance governing alcohol reflects a zero-tolerance stance on booze in public parks. But city officials say times have changed.
“The volume, scale, and character of events hosted in Tamarac’s parks have evolved significantly,” City Manager Levent Sucuoglu wrote in a June 4 memo.
The proposed alcohol-in-parks ordinance, which is supported by Tamarac’s Acting Director of Parks and Recreation Melissa Petron, would align the city with contemporary municipal practices while boosting community engagement and economic development, Sucuoglu wrote..
The proposed change would permit alcohol at city-sponsored or city-permitted special events—but only under tightly regulated conditions, according to the memo.
Organizers would need written approval from the city manager or a designee. They would also be required to obtain a state-mandated alcohol license along with liquor liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured party.
Permits could also be issued for certain private functions, like family reunions or group gatherings, as long as the same safeguards are met.
A city ban on “intoxicated” people in parks would remain in place, according to the memo.
Sucuoglu pointed to similar ordinances in other Florida cities that have used controlled alcohol policies to attract larger crowds to public events and increase revenue. He argued that allowing responsible alcohol consumption would help the city meet its strategic goals of economic resilience and community vibrancy.
The ordinance is projected to bring a fiscal boost by drawing more attendees to public events, generating permit fees, and spurring local spending at nearby businesses, according to the memo.
Wednesday will not be the first time the alcohol issue has come before the commission. The ordinance was previously rejected by commissioners at their April 23 meeting.
“It is being brought forward to be considered again given the many events that are planned for the year,” Sucuoglu wrote.
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