May 15, 2015: On the other side of Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg near the East End also is pursuing a referendum to end its more than 80 years as a “dry town.”
While Bellevue’s referendum will mark the second time in the past six years it has pursued a campaign to allow liquor licenses in the borough, Tracey Evans, executive director of the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation, said she believes her community’s would be a first.
Both ballot measures will position the importance of liquor-serving establishments as an economic development tool over local concern about the potentially harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
Evans said the referendum is part of a larger master plan in Wilkinsburg and follows an update of the zoning code several years ago limiting liquor licenses to commercial and mixed-use areas. Read the full story from the Pittsburgh Business Times.