WATFORD CITY (AP) - The Watford City Council has decided to allow unlimited off-sale liquor licenses in the booming community in the western North Dakota oil patch.
"Off-sale" refers to liquor that is sold to be consumed off the premises. Watford City has had only one off-sale license for nearly 60 years, because city ordinance allows only one per 3,000 residents.
The city is growing quickly because of the oil boom. The official 2010 census is 1,740 people, but the city estimates the actual number is more than 5,000.
The Watford City Community Benefit Association had held the lone off-sale license and used the proceeds from its liquor store for community projects. Spokesman Steve Stenehjem (STEHN'-juhm) tells The Bismarck Tribune that he's disappointed with the council's decision.