By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

It really shouldn’t require a special act by the state legislature to open up a local business, but that is exactly our situation when it comes to restaurants in Somerville. If you want to serve dinner and you want to be profitable, most restaurants really need a liquor license of some sort. The problem is that the Commonwealth caps the number of available liquor licenses in Somerville and every other community. The limit stems from a Prohibition-era law that isn’t capable of growing with us as we reinvigorate our city squares and business corridors like East Somerville and transform old industrial areas like Brickbottom. Our diversity, artistic bent and bustling community have made Somerville a bit of a destination in this region. Our eclectic mix of excellent restaurants has formed a local industry that generates more than $300 million annually. Its revenues grow by double digits every year.

This success story deserves to be celebrated, not inhibited. Somerville’s restaurant scene is a big reason why we get listed as a hot tourist spot by travel sites and publications. The problem we’re running into is the state’s arbitrary liquor license quota, which puts the brakes on that success. It creates unmet demand and prevents emerging areas of our city from enjoying the success of established areas. Plus, who’s against thriving small businesses and good jobs?

As I talk to other municipal leaders, this is shared concern. When it comes to liquor licenses we have an antiquated system that stifles growth and community redevelopment. It actually punishes vibrant, destination communities. For years, city officials and our state delegation have been pushing to change these needless regulations.

The good news is that Gov. Baker, like Gov. Patrick before him, is on our side. He has proposed that communities be allowed to set their own liquor license quotas rather than remain beholden to the archaic state cap. We hope the legislature as a whole will follow his lead. In the current system, a community that’s maxed out on its licenses has to make a special request to the legislature to increase the amount. Updated legislation will save us all that cumbersome process. We’re a community that seen a dramatic transformation in Assembly Square, and we’re planning the revitalization of Union Square/Boynton Yards/Inner Belt/Brickbottom. Modernized legislation will help advance that job-producing growth.

We’ve asked for an increase of 65 licenses to cover our needs for some time. But that’s no sure bet. Nor is it for any community who makes a request. But ultimately it’s the local communities who know best what they need. They should be the ones to decide what fits with their community’s needs, goals, and preferences.

Local government is where we have the detail-level view of the demand and opportunities for the local restaurant industry. Local government is also most directly accountable to the people in our community. We can actually have the discussion about where and how do we want to target this sort of growth. Maybe we want some BYOB establishments. Local communities can best handle the analysis or have the community discussions that will lead to the best decisions. That’s a lot of work. So let’s put this in the hands of the people who can and should do it: local communities. Ultimately, that’s what we’re after: giving cities and towns the ability to make decisions that impact their communities.

Somerville is on the leading edge when it comes to experiencing just how much the current state liquor license system does not work. I have no doubt the cap will be eliminated at some point. When it is, we’d like to also be on the leading edge of making responsible, locally driven decisions on liquor licensing.

So I’m urging Somervillians to pay close attention not just to our local license increase request but also to Gov. Baker’s attempt put an end to the archaic state liquor license quota. This affects us where we live, and there is a much better way to make these decisions.