St. Charles likely to lift ban on alcohol deliveries

A proposal establishing a set of rules for the delivery of alcohol in St. Charles was shot down Monday by aldermen, who said they'd prefer to "go silent" on the matter.

Instead, the city council unanimously directed staff members to draft an ordinance lifting St. Charles' ban on home liquor deliveries. Rather than implementing local regulations, the city's code would point to state liquor laws, which officials said are sufficient for enforcing and addressing any issues that arise.

Police Chief James Keegan has acknowledged the growing demand for food and grocery delivery services, a concept made popular by common carriers such as Peapod and GrubHub. He also knows those deliveries often include packaged alcohol, despite a line in the city's liquor code prohibiting it.

An initial proposal, unanimously defeated Monday, would have permitted liquor deliveries as long as carriers and customers followed various rules, such as requiring carriers to be at least 21 years old, undergo special training and keep a record of all transactions. The measure wasn't drafted out of necessity, Keegan said, but rather to provide some guidance to the several local businesses that have expressed interest in offering such services.

The proposal received a negative recommendation at the committee level, where some aldermen questioned whether police would be able to effectively enforce the rules. However, many officials still saw value in allowing liquor deliveries to help businesses remain competitive in an e-commerce era.

"We know that deliveries of alcohol take place all the time in our community," Mayor Ray Rogina said Monday. "For us to have an ordinance on the books that prohibits that when it's going on seems to be self-defeating."

If the city were to regulate liquor deliveries to some extent, Alderman Art Lemke said he believes St. Charles could become a model for other communities to follow. But Alderman William Turner said implementing local rules would be unnecessary.

"I would like to just see this thing completely taken off the books and let the state handle it," he said.

According to a motion made by Alderman Rita Payleitner, a new proposal striking the prohibition of liquor deliveries from the city's code is expected to be brought back to the city council later this month.