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Knoxville's 'drinking and dancing' ordinance abolished

"It made us sound like the town in 'Footloose,'" Knoxville Director of Communications Jesse Mayshark said.

Having a drink and dancing at the same time is now legal in the city of Knoxville.

You probably didn't know it wasn't before.

The City Council amended an ordinance Tuesday night that prohibiting dancing while holding an alcoholic beverage.

The ordinance dates back to the 1960s, and required businesses to get a special "with dancing" beer permit.

The rule was seldom enforced, but applicants for alcohol permits had to pass inspections of the size of their dance floor and its distance from the serving area.

The move to repeal the ordinance started after Director of Communications Jesse Mayshark mentioned its existence in a recent conversation with Mayor Madeline Rogero.

Mayshark said the mayor asked him if the city has any restrictions on rooftop bars. There aren't, but the question reminded Mayshark of the dancing and drinking ordinance.

"It made us sound like the town in 'Footloose,'" Mayshark said.

The City Council first approved a motion to amend the ordinance on March 13, and took it up on a second reading Tuesday night. Council members voted unanimously to amend it.

"These restrictions have proven to be difficult to enforce and do not appear to reduce instances of sales to minors, which presumably was the original intent of these regulations," the agenda item said.

Mayshark said this decision is a lesson for local governments to take a second look at the old codes.

"What are the rules we have in place? Do they still make sense? You know, regardless of what the reason was for something in the first place, do we still need it or is it creating needless hassle for people?" he said.

Another quirky ordinance Knoxville used to have is one requiring hitching posts in front of businesses, Mayshark said. That one was taken off the books years ago.

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