Last week, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill (S-2921/A-5554) into law that allows municipalities to designate certain outdoor areas in town in which people over 21 years old may consume alcoholic beverages.We can see the appeal of this bill for cities like Hoboken and Jersey City, as well as along the boardwalks of our shore towns. But does this mean that we could soon see people strolling down Livingston’s residential streets with beer, wine, and liquor in hand? Almost certainly not, but it’s possible that we could see this applied to some of the community’s commercial downtown areas.While there may not be an obvious open container area that would make sense in Livingston at the moment, as we mark certain areas for redevelopment and build within them, that could change. Hubs around Town Center and Northfield Center (the Northfield Road and South Livingston Avenue intersection) could theoretically be utilized in such a way.There are reasons the open container laws exist, of course, and therefore there are very valid concerns that would come with designating any area as a place that permits alcohol consumption. We are sure that most residents would be outraged to find that their living space was suddenly within a designated open container area. But through public discussion and research, perhaps there is a location or two in town for which this would make sense. If there is, permitting an open container area could change the makeup of that location moving forward. It could attract certain businesses to the area. Perhaps it would even entice the elusive “youth” demographic that New Jersey has been losing to more affordable or exciting locales.After speaking with Mayor Ed Meinhardt and Police Chief Gary Marshuetz, it seems evident that there are no looming plans to take advantage of this law in town. But while there does not seem to be any imminent intention to utilize it, should that one day become the case, know that it would not happen behind closed doors. To designate a space for open container use, the Township Council would need to pass an ordinance, which would necessitate a public hearing at a meeting. Even if there is no ordinance planned, we expect this will at least be a brief topic of discussion at a future public meeting.In addition to considering open container laws, we hope the township’s governing bodies will continue to look at outdoor dining and ...
