HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-15-064 - Liquor License Application Review Committee Staff Report
rTC.�r R finance and Corporate Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: May 4, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Liquor Licensing Review Committee
PREPARED BY: Patricia Harris, Manager of Licensing, 519-741-7854
WARD(S) INVOLVED: 9 & 10
DATE OF REPORT: April 15, 2015
REPORT NO.: FCS-15-064
SUBJECT: LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Liquor License Application Review Committee be disbanded; and
further,
That the related process of submitting potential liquor license conditions to the
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario be discontinued.
BACKGROUND:
In the mid to late 1990's downtown Kitchener had an overabundance of bars and
nightclubs. As the liquor license capacity increased so did the negative perception of
the downtown. In 1999 there were approximately 17,000 bar seats in the downtown
core. Nightclubs and bar seats made up approximately 60% of this total. All seats were
concentrated within a 10 block radius. There were numerous fights and substantial
damage to property on a continuous basis. City staff and the Downtown Business
Association at the time had reached out to the bar and club owners to find solutions but
had received little or no co-operation from them.
In April of 1999 Council passed a resolution that all applicants for a liquor license in the
downtown were to be notified of Council's policy regarding their application and
requested to complete an information form. At Council's request a Liquor License
Application Review Committee (LLARC) was established to review the information form
and make recommendations to Council as to whether the application was contrary to
public interest. The Committee currently includes the Manager of Licensing, Manager
of Downtown Community Development, Assistant City Solicitor, Business Licensing
Inspector and a representative of the Kitchener Downtown Business Improvement Area.
***This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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Through LLARC, Council was able to review all liquor licence applications for
businesses in the downtown core. If there were concerns Council was able to object to
a liquor license request and a Council Resolution passed to explain why Council
objected to the application and a request for a hearing by the Alcohol and Gaming
Commission (AGCO) was made. Alternatively, Council was able to request the AGCO
apply certain conditions to the approval of a liquor licence.
The process has been in place for several years and has worked quite well because,
the AGCO was willing to attach the conditions listed in Council's resolution to the
Applicant's liquor licence which then required the applicants' to abide by the conditions
as part of their liquor license and it was up to the AGCO to take action if the conditions
were not met. If an applicant wished to have any of the City's conditions removed from
the liquor license the AGCO required that they obtain Council's permission.
REPORT:
Currently, all applicants for a liquor license in the downtown core are requested to
complete a Request for Information form. LLARC reviews the information and makes a
recommendation to Council. Standard conditions are part of the resolution as follows:
1. To participate as an active member of the DKBIA's License and Entertainment
Committee if such a committee is established;
2. To abide by a set monthly ratio of alcohol sales to gross refreshment sales;
3. To stop serving alcohol by a certain time depending on the experience of the
applicant who is serving alcohol;
4. To notify the Clerk in writing of any application to change the license at the time
the application for the change is made to the AGCO, and not to expand the
establishment without the consent of the City Council;
5. To comply with the Noise By-law and the Region of Waterloo Smoking Bylaw.
The Resolution of Council is forwarded to the AGCO with a request that the conditions
be added to the Liquor licence.
No other municipalities in the area have a process like this for businesses in the
downtown core.
The process has worked well for Kitchener. Council has been able to make comments
to the AGCO through this process and over the years has been able to request
conditions be placed on a liquor licence. Although the AGCO has added the requested
conditions up until recently, the AGCO has always had the option to add or not add
them to the licence.
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The AGCO has recently informed City staff that they are no longer prepared to include
Conditions 1, 2, 4 & 5 on an applicant's liquor licence as they fall within a municipal by-
law inspection and enforcement mandate. These conditions could be added to a
business license, if necessary, but the following impediments exist:
Condition 1 — The DKBIA's License and Entertainment Committee was disbanded
several years ago and has not been re-established
Condition 2 — The set monthly ratio of alcohol sales to gross refreshment sales is
difficult to enforce because there is no reporting/review mechanism in
place
Condition 4 — To notify the Clerk if they plan to expand the business is difficult to
enforce. The AGCO does not inform City staff if there are changes to a
liquor licence.
Condition 5 — To comply with the Noise By-law and the Region of Waterloo Smoking
By-law is already enforced.
Regarding Condition 3, the AGCO is willing to consider on a case-by-case basis a
proposed condition requiring a licence holder to stop the sale and service of alcohol at a
time other than that stipulated in the Liquor Licence Act. They would be interested in
knowing at the time of the application what concerns about a liquor licence applicant are
being addressed by restricting the hours of service. In the past members of Council
have expressed concerns that restricting the hours of the sale of alcohol unfairly affects
new businesses who are trying to compete with established businesses.
Based on the decision of the AGCO not to add Council's requested standard conditions
to an Applicant's liquor license and the fact that the landscape of the downtown has
changed since the early 2000's when there were over 17,000 bar seats in the core (to
approximately 10,000 seats today), LLARC is of the opinion it has completed its
mandate regarding liquor licenses in the downtown core and should be disbanded. In
addition, there is no value in continuing the related process of submitting potential liquor
license conditions to the AGCO
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Efficient and Effective Government — Continue to review processes and procedures to
ensure that they are still applicable to today's needs.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in
advance of the council / committee meeting.
COLLABORATE — The recommendation has been developed in conjunction with the
DKBIA.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: D. Chapman, Deputy CAO and City Treasurer, Finance and
Corporate Services
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