Alcohol Outlet Density
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and CAMY have developed Strategizers to assist state and local public health departments and communities in planning, implementing, and evaluating prevention strategies recommended by the independent, non-federal Community Preventive Services Task Force. These recommendations are based on systematic reviews of the available scientific evidence of the effectiveness of public health strategies in preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.
Summaries of the Task Force’s recommendations and the research on which they are based can be accessed on the Community Guide website.
Strategizer 55: Regulating Alcohol Outlet Density: Action Guide
Download Strategizer 55: Regulating Alcohol Outlet Density: Action Guide.
This Strategizer supports community efforts to reduce the number of places that sell and serve alcohol by providing information and guidance on implementing public health and legal strategies.
Although state and local public health departments are the primary audience for this Action Guide, it is also intended to support the work of community coalitions on the prevention of excessive alcohol consumption, and to help build collaborations between these coalitions and public health agencies in achieving this share objective.
Legal issues related to the regulation of alcohol outlet density
State preemption is the legal doctrine that determines the level of local control over decisions affecting alcohol outlet density in a given state. Local governments have the authority to regulate alcohol outlet density only to the extent that the state grants them that authority.
Use this interactive map to find your state’s preemption category to understand what your community can do to address alcohol outlet density. Darker colors imply greater state preemption of local action.
These findings are general findings. It is strongly recommended that you cross-reference this information with legal counsel in your respective state to fully understand opportunities for local action.
Legal Analyses
The intent of a state-specific legal analysis is to provide educational resources to community coalitions, policy analysts, municipal governments and others assessing potential responses to the problems created by retail availability of alcohol. Below are three sample state legal analyses
Issue Briefs
Model Local Ordinances
Below are sample ordinances from communities that have addressed the retail availability of alcohol at the local level.