The DeKalb Liquor Commission held a hearing for La Quinta Reyes on charges from ordinance violations committed last month.

La Quinta Reyes is a Class E liquor license establishment, and by keeping its kitchen closed while serving alcohol, it violated city law.

The attorney for La Quinta Reyes, 145 N. Third St., requested a postponement, which the liquor commissioner granted.

The hearing will be held Tuesday, December 13 at 4 p.m. in the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 S. Fourth St.

The commission met again later in the evening for the third time this year to discuss the reform of problematic city ordinances.

The commission made a firm decision to send to the city council to raise the minimum price of beer per ounce.

The new price would be 8 cents per ounce of beer, double the current cost of 4 cents per ounce.

“DeKalb has not changed its minimum price for beer in 10 years,” said commission member Mike Embrey. “The price for beer has increased 25 to 30 percent in the last 10 years.”

The price increase would help create a level playing field for all business owners, Embrey said.

If passed, the price increase could go into effect as soon as Jan. 1, pending city council approval.

DeKalb’s minimum beer and liquor prices are unique ordinances to a college town. No other college towns have this kind of ordinance, said Staff Secretary Denise Setchell.

The commission also discussed live entertainment licensing privileges for DeKalb.

Class E establishments were identified as the main concern of the live entertainment licenses by the commission. Not all businesses are equally equipped to handle such crowds.

Another ordinance the commission addressed was the limitations on outdoor events held in DeKalb.

The commission discussed proposing different outdoor event licenses for commercial and not-for-profit events.

Police enforcement was the biggest concern the commission had for lifting limitations on outdoor events.

City Attorney Norma Guess suggested creating subsections for the licenses campus bars use because they require more police attention.

The last item addressed was the application process bar owners must go through to acquire a liquor license. Nothing was formally decided, but they are looking at shifting some of the city’s responsibilities to the business owners. Referring to “burden of proof,” the council talked about how to make owners more culpable for the technicalities involved in verifying lease information and property ownership.

The liquor commission will meet again Jan. 16 in the municipal building.