Iowa City council denies liquor license; bar sues city

The City Council Tuesday night denied a liquor license to the Summit Restaurant and Bar, but the matter is far from over.

An attorney for the bar said it will appeal the decision. Additionally, the Summit and its owner, Mike Porter, sued the city Tuesday.

“I've done nothing illegal,” Porter told the council.

The council's vote was 6-0 against the downtown bar, 10 S. Clinton St.

At the center of the debate is the city's new policy that calls for refusing a liquor license to any establishment with underage patrons ticketed for possessing alcohol at a rate of greater than 1.0 per officer visit. The citation is commonly called a PAULA.

For the past year, the Summit, a 19-and-older bar with a capacity of 736, had a PAULA rate greater than 1.9.

Steven Havercamp, a Davenport attorney for the Summit and Porter, said the Summit would appeal the city's decision to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, just as two other bars, Fieldhouse and Etc., have done.

It is taking its dissent a step further, though, and suing the city.

A petition filed in Johnson County District Court claims the PAULA policy violates both the U.S. and Iowa constitutions and exceeds the city's authority.

Havercamp said the city ordinance doesn't comply with state law, was unconstitutionally vague in how it defines police “visits” and was being applied unevenly and retroactively. He noted that a minority of the city's bars and restaurants account for most of the police bar checks.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent the city from enforcing its policy and asks for an unspecified amount of money in damages.

Council member Matt Hayek said the council was acting on its policy, and for him it was an easy decision because the bar clearly was in violation. He acknowledged the larger legal questions will be answered later.

“We will find out at some point in the future whether what we enacted ... holds up,” he said.