LEWISTON – The city could be targeting downtown Lisbon Street social clubs with licensing changes.

The city will look for ways to encourage restaurants, rental halls and higher end drinking establishments, according to city councilors and Planning Board members.

“The private drinking clubs, they’re like dinosaurs,” City Councilor Ron Jean said.

Councilors enacted a moratorium on new liquor licenses in November while city staffers looked at ways to encourage higher end development. That moratorium is due to expire Feb. 12.

“We’re looking at all the new development there compared to the old Lisbon Street,” said City Administrator Jim Bennett. “We need to ask ourselves if that’s what we want.”

Councilor Mark Paradis said he favored limiting bars to three every 500 feet.

“I’m not against bars and grill and pubs,” Paradis said. “The problem that I have is that some are not taking care of business.”

Others said that could be too restrictive. Councilor Stavros Mendros said he thought competition from higher end bars would be the best way to get rid those bars.

“If I’m one of those bars, until the competition comes in next to me, I’m going to keep letting things run down,” Mendros said.

Planning Board Chairman Jeffrey Gosselin said he wouldn’t mind seeing some bars on Lisbon Street, as long as they attracted a higher-end crowd.

“It would give people a place to bar hop,” Gosselin said. “Let’s face it. People do bar hop in Lewiston, but now they’re driving.”

The group agreed that restaurants that serve liquor and halls that could be rented for special occasions are fine. That may send the city looking for other ways to differentiate between those establishments and other bars.

“But the state won’t let you say that restaurants are fine but bars are not,” Bennett said. “If we want to regulate those, we may have to regulate the non-liquor parts, like parking, entertainment or food.”

Bennett said the city could regulate those distinctions by changing the city’s special use and adult business licenses. Proposed changes should be ready for council review before the moratorium ends, he said.

staylor@sunjournal.com