Council Looks to Tweak Alcohol Ordinance

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION, Wednesday August 17, 2011:

Item 7: Sign Ordinance---Planning and Zoning Director Dennis Billew said the Sign Ordinance is being delayed due to a billboard relocation issue being negotiated by attorneys. A-Frame signs usage has not been finalized in the ordinance due to Billew’s schedule and attention to other higher priority issues. He said it would be at least three weeks before it could rise to the top of his to-do list.

For now, downtown businesses using A-Frame signs are receiving a pass on enforcement as the ordinance pends revisions.

Item 16: Alcohol Ordinance Regarding the Wine Shop---This item was requested to change the language in to allow the right to sell beer by the drink (and package). The ordinance as written prohibits the selling of beer in a wine shop. And there is the possibility of another wine shop opening in the downtown area.         

In working on this item, other concerns were brought before the council to close loopholes in the ordinance that could be used to establish downtown bars and nightclubs. The ordinance contains generalities or vague language in addressing what “may be” sold. Thompson said there are no requirements on seating, whether or not the selling of food is required, etc.

Thompson asked the council what they want a wine shop to be and if they want to allow bars. Mayor Johnson said the ordinance as written makes no distinction between a wine shop or what is traditionally thought of as bar if a wine shop is allowed to sell beer. She said there are no real criteria for “special use” permitting. Currently, if anyone is seeking a special use permit, they must appear before the council to get their approval before it is issued.

Thompson said that there is some confusion when the city refers to special use in alcohol context as oppose to zoning context. Therefore he proposed also looking at the language to discern if special use is related to alcohol or zoning. He gave an example of Niko’s getting special use approval for what they thought was for outdoor patio seating (a zoning issue), but instead they were approved, by special use permitting, to sell alcohol on the patio.

He also said in re-writing the Alcohol Ordinance that standards, criteria need to be included. Indoor special events have very specific standards in the ordinance already, and standards exist for outdoor consumption. But outdoor consumption standards need to be amended in the ordinance to allow drinking away from the area where alcohol was purchased. This change would permit drinks to be carried throughout an outdoor festival, concert or any event at which alcohol is sold.  

“We need to think five to ten years down the line and not just for this one wine shop,” said Councilwoman Katie Hart Smith,” this is a . And we are looking at the College Corridor as an entertainment district. We need to step back and determine what do we want to be.” She asked for a definition of a bar and wine shop to avoid a store turning into a bar.

Councilman Powell said he was in favor of setting criteria as long as they are “cost effective”. He suggested that Planning and Zoning Director Billew or someone on his staff, visit Niko’s to determine their exact business operations to establish wine shop standards. And then bring their findings back to the city attorney.

Powell said he was not in favor of doing hard definitions in the abstract, he would prefer for someone, a business owner, to come before the council with a specific request to receive approval or not, on a case-by-case basis. He outline the approach of letting the city attorney identify the areas that need standards and having staff make recommendations of standards as the ordinance is being re-written.

Council will move forward in changing the ordinance to add beer so Niko’s can sell beer during an October (beer fest) event.

At the end of the Work Session agenda the council moved into Executive Session.