For smaller Boston restaurants that can’t afford a costly liquor license, an alternative would be possible via a city council proposal that would allow patrons to bring their own beer and wine to dinner.

At-large Councillors Michelle Wu and Stephen Murphy held a hearing Monday to refine their Bring Your Own Bottle, or BYOB, initiative, which is meant to assist in “offering more flexibility in business models and alleviating some of the disadvantage from scarce liquor licenses,” according to the original hearing notice.

BYOB is a limited proposal, applying only to restaurants seating 30 or fewer patrons in neighborhoods outside of the bustling downtown area like Dorchester, Hyde Park, Roxbury, and South Boston.

The proposal would “not only spur economic vitality in our neighborhoods, but also do it in a way that is safe and regulated for Boston, creating more consumer options,” Wu said.

Murphy, who lost his bid for re-election in November and is watching the clock tick down, said he hoped that the topic could be resolved in the next ten days.

In his home neighborhood of Hyde Park, as in other regions of Boston, Murphy said, it is “important that we change up the conditions of our business district to infuse it with new life.”

Rafael Carbonell, deputy director of the city’s Office of Business Development, said that small business and restaurant owners “were overwhelmingly supportive of this” in conversations with him.

There is some overlap between areas that would be served by this proposal and neighborhoods where liquor licenses are made available offered through at-large councillor Ayanna Pressley’s license reform program. Beer and wine licenses generally cost between $50,000 to $75,000.

“Anecdotally, I have heard some concerns from restaurateurs that without a product to sell, this will not be a huge boost for them,” Pressley said. Hers was one of the few voices of concern to be heard at the hearing on the proposal.

Murphy and Wu have noted that cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and towns like Brookline have permitted BYOB at restaurants without liquor licenses.

Stephen Clark of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which represents more than 400 restaurants in Boston and about 5,500 statewide, said, “BYOB permits have shown to be helpful to very small restaurants in certain areas of the Commonwealth when implemented effectively and carefully.”