HACKENSACK -- If a town has public transit, apartments and restaurants, there's only one thing some think could sweeten the deal for investors and residents -- beer and booze.

If a bill making its way through the Legislature becomes law, Hackensack will be the guinea pig in a pilot program allowing municipalities that fit a very specific set of requirements to distribute liquor permits as more residences are developed.

Under the bill, A4734, a permit would be issued for every 100 units added through redevelopment.

The permit holder would be randomly selected by the issuing authority, perhaps in a lottery system, said Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, the bill's sponsor.

The permit's annual fee would be $25,000 in its first year and $15,000 every year after.

"We're trying to create a vibrant pedestrian-friendly city by having people live in our downtown," Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse said.

Hackensack is undergoing a transformation downtown, with hundreds of apartments and thousands of square feet of retail space planned.

The permits would encourage even more development on Main Street. Eventually, Hackensack could model Jersey City or Hoboken, said Jerome Lombardo, chairman of the Board of the Hackensack Main Street Business Alliance.

"We're trying to create that same kind of ambience, that same kind of nightlife that attracts the millennials and the older generation that want to move downtown," Lombardo said.

"Before we can do that, we need tools more tools in the toolbox."

Municipalities designated as "transit villages" by the state that have adopted a "Smart Growth Redevelopment Plan" would qualify.

Johnson said he acknowledged potential grievances from liquor license holders, who sometimes have paid thousands of dollars for their licenses.

So, he said, the bill was written to give them a cut of the profit.

For 15 years, once the permit is issued, 80 percent of the money from the fees will go to liquor license holders in the municipality. After the 15 years is up, the entire fee will go toward the municipality.

Unlike the liquor licenses, the permits can't be sold or moved to another part of town. And, as Lombardo countered, more foot traffic to the downtown area would bring more business to the restaurants that have a liquor license as well.

"It would be huge," Labrosse said. "Developers would be even more champing at the bit to develop here."

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.