Clerk OK's 'Dry Line' Petitions

Friday, August 21, 1964

A charter amendment proposal seeking to establish a new “dry line” for the city will be placed on the November ballot if approved by Gov. George Romney’s office.

City Clerk Fred J. Looker today said a sufficient number of Ann Arbor registered voters signed petitions asking that the question be placed on the ballot. He said his office stopped checking petitions when 1,600 valid signatures were found. About 1356 were needed, he said.

The petitions ask that the City Charter be amended to have the area in which alcoholic beverages may not be sold be bounded by Division, Granger, Forest, State, and Ann. Voters approved in April a charter amendment to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages east of Platt Road, an area previously in city’s “dry” area.

Generally, the governor’s approval of charter amendment proposals is a routine matter. Looker said he would forward the proposal to Romney’s office in the near future.