Petition seeks bar entry age of 18 in Iowa City

No one expected Iowa City's 21-and-older bar debate to be settled without a fight - and it's not going to be.

A petition drive was started Tuesday to try to force a public vote to lower Iowa City's bar entry age to 18 from the current 19 after 10 p.m.

Organizers said their goal was to stop the City Council from voting on a so-called 21-only ordinance, although the city attorney said their petition could not do that.

The City Council is scheduled to vote later this month on whether to make it so only those 21 and older can be in bars at night. Six of the seven council members have said they are in favor of such a move as a way to address the longtime problem of binge drinking in this college town.

A 21-only ballot measure was soundly defeated by voters in 2007, with strong support coming from college students.

Dan Tallon, one of the organizers of the petition, said it should be up to the public, not the council, to decide the matter.

“Because it's behind everyone's back, that's the big issue for people,” Tallon, a 21-year-old University of Iowa student who unsuccessfully ran for City Council last fall, said of the council's intentions.

To get the 18-and-older initiative on the ballot, the petition would have to be signed by 2,500 eligible voters. With the 30,000-student UI campus across the street from the bar-filled downtown, Tallon predicted it wouldn't be difficult to meet the requirement.

He also said the goal is to stop the council from voting on a 21-only ordinance and bar owners his group has spoken with wouldn't let 18-year-olds in even if the entry age is lowered.

But the petition cannot stop the council's vote, City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes said. The city's charter clearly states that an action by the council is affected by an initiative only when that initiative has been adopted by voters, she said.

If certified, the initiative likely would appear on the ballot in November.

Tallon said petition organizers disagree with that opinion. He referred questions on whether they would take legal action to Mike Porter, a 21-only opponent who owns several drinking establishments downtown. Porter declined to comment.

If the council adopts a 21-only law and the initiative is successful, it sets up a potentially confusing scenario come November. Petitioners also could seek a referendum to repeal the council's actions on 21-only. That means there could be two measures on the ballot related to the bar entry age.

“It's going to be an interesting ride,” Dilkes said.