Washougal eyes OKing beer, wine in its parks

The city of Washougal is proposing a code change to allow beer and wine in city parks, Reflection Plaza and Towncenter during special events.

Rose Jewell, the city’s community engagement manager, proposed the change to the Washougal City Council on May 27. The council is tentatively set to vote on the proposal Monday.

“We’ll try it and hope everything goes well and that we can control it,” Jewell said. “There still will be restrictions. It’s not going to be (a) free-for-all.”

The city currently prohibits alcohol use of any kind in public parks in a code dating back to the late 1960s, Jewell said.

Code 2.20.170 states that “it is unlawful for any person to bring into any park or consume any intoxicating liquor.”

The ordinance proposes to change the code to state, “Hard liquor is not permitted. Beer/wine may be permitted and consumed in a park as part of a special event permit provided all necessary and appropriate permits and licenses required by the Washington Liquor Control Board are obtained.”

The city hopes to encourage people and organizations to hold events in its renovated downtown core and recognizes that some of those events would like to serve alcohol, Jewell said. The ordinance states that “the city council acknowledges that requests to allow beer/wine often accompany tourism and/or community special event permit applications.”

Jewell said the city anticipates renting the new community center and revitalized town center for weddings and other events that would serve alcohol.

Construction of Hyas Point, which began earlier this year at the Washougal waterfront, is also driving the code changes, Jewell said.

“Some of what prompted this is that a lot of the bigger events have been held at the port, and the port is under construction, so they’d like to move,” she said. “Some of them started out downtown, some of them developed at the port, but now they’re wanting to use our downtown.”

Jewell said that the ordinance includes parks because Reflection Plaza and Washougal Towncenter are categorized as parks in the city’s comprehensive plan.

If the code change is approved, people would be required to indicate their desire for alcohol on an application form for a special events permit.

“They still have to go through the Washington State Liquor Control Commission and comply with all that other licensing. Just because they ask for it doesn’t mean that they’re going to get it,” Jewell said.

Jewell said the city will review permit applications on a “case-by-case basis.”

“If somebody’s applying for a ‘kiddie event’ where the parents just sit around and drink wine, that doesn’t resonate with the intent of the code,” she said. “But if somebody’s putting on an Oktoberfest, or something like the Washougal Songcraft Festival, where they want (their attendees to have the option of having) some wine when listening to music, that’s kind of what we want downtown.”

To acquire a special events permit, the applicant must acquire all of the necessary insurance and hold the city harmless, Jewell said.

Serving alcohol without proper permits or in violation of city policies can result in a police citation, event shutdown, forfeiture of deposit, denial of future permit applications and additional fees, according to the ordinance.

“We want to definitely emphasize this does not mean you can have alcohol in the parks,” Jewell said. “It’s still strictly prohibited outside of a special event permit.”

Christopher and Stephanie Corbell, the founders of the annual Washougal Songcraft Festival, are proponents of the code change. In 2024, they held portions of their second annual event at Reflection Plaza and the Washougal Community Center.

“For us, it isn’t really about the (alcohol),” Christopher Corbell said. “It’s just about meeting audience expectations for a summer music festival so folks feel that it’s a great cultural event and want to come back.”