Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Chief License Inspector

SUBJECT:

3684 East Hastings - Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pub
605613 B.C. Ltd. (Ballard Bros. Enterprises Ltd.)

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Council policy is that new Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pubs are subject to a legal agreement, a good neighbour agreement, a time-limited development permit and neighbourhood notification.

PURPOSE

605613 B.C. Ltd., (Ballard Bros. Enterprises Ltd.) doing business as The Mojo Room, are requesting a Council resolution endorsing their application for a 65-seat with 20-seat patio Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pub at 3684 East Hastings Street.

BACKGROUND

The Mojo Room currently holds a grandfathered dual Class ‘C’ Cabaret/Dining Lounge provincial liquor license. The proposed Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pub would replace the existing Cabaret with an Irish style pub while retaining full kitchen facilities.

The hours of operation will be 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The licensee may apply in writing to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch for an extension to 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights only.

The current hours of the Restaurant-Class 1 are 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m. and the Class ‘C’ Cabaret from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. (except Sundays when the business closes at midnight). The total combined seating capacity is 139, and approval of the application would result in a reduction of 64 seats at this location, along with an earlier closing time. The existing restaurant operates in a reduced space within the Cabaret during daytime hours.

The subject premises are located in a C-2C Commercial District. The surrounding area is a mixture of retail, office and residential uses (Appendix A). The nearest residential buildings are located a half block south of the property and kitty corner to the premise at Boundary Road and Hastings Street.

There are no other licensed premises within the 500-foot radius survey area or a provincial government liquor store in the immediate area. The subject site is adjacent to the Vancouver/Burnaby border and much of the notification falls within the City of Burnaby. Notices were delivered to the Burnaby residents and businesses within the notification area. The Cabaret owner has also entered into an agreement to sell the Cabaret license to a third party for relocation of the grandfathered Class ‘B/C’ license to the Theatre Row Entertainment District (Blaine Culling’s application for 900 Granville Street).

The existing Cabaret (The Mojo Room) located at 3684 East Hastings Street has been closed for the past number of months. The business was closed voluntarily by the operator after experiencing problems with some of the club’s clientele.

The applicant is proposing a pub as a replacement for the existing Cabaret. The neighbourhood pub seating area would contain a maximum of 1,660 square feet (consisting of pub seating area and a dedicated games area) and the remainder of the existing space would be converted to office and storage space.

DISCUSSION

The concept of transferring an existing cabaret license to another location and placing a Neighbourhood Pub in the space vacated by the Cabaret has been approved previously by Council. On June 18th, 1998, the Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission (Council notified the Commission’s endorsement on July 7th, 1998) approved the relocation of the Club Elite Cabaret from 99 Powell Street to 646 Seymour Street and approved a new 65-seat and a 20-seat patio Neighbourhood Pub at 99 Powell Street.

A similar request is being made in this proposal. The Cabaret is to be relocated to 900 Granville Street and the applicant is proposing an Irish style Neighbourhood Pub and Restaurant Class 1 combined in the vacated space.

Typically, one of the major hurdles to relocating a cabaret is what to do with the space that is being vacated. By endorsing a neighbourhood pub for the space vacated by the Cabaret,the City is providing a viable alternate use for the space. As defined by the Vancouver Building By-law, Cabarets, Neighbourhood Pubs and Restaurants are all considered as “A2" occupancy uses. This effectively means that the probability that the Building By-law will require substantial, costly upgrades to the entire building is significantly reduced.

If no viable alternate use is provided for the space, then the property owner may be more inclined to legally fight for the retention of the Provincial Liquor License on that property. There is a strong probability that the property owner would win that legal battle. This would severely limit number of possible liquor licenses that could be moved.

Staff are generally in support of converting cabarets to neighbourhood pubs as they typically cause little impact in the surrounding community. The earlier closing times (midnight on weekdays and 1:00 a.m. on weekends versus 2:00 a.m. six days of the week excluding Sundays) and a more subdued style of entertainment are more conducive to residential neighbourhoods.

The few negative comments which were received as a result of the notification delivered in the area appeared to focus their concerns on the impacts a previous Cabaret had on the area. Staff suggest that the requirement of a time-limited DP and a legal agreement will ensure that the proposed neighbourhood pub will operate with greater respect for the surrounding residents.

It should be noted that the existing Cabaret use is not limited in time and that a cabaret could continue to operate for as long as the building is standing. By permitting the move of the Cabaret and a new neighbourhood pub, Council will in fact eliminate one permanent use and replace it with two time-limited uses within the City of Vancouver.

RESULTS OF NOTIFICATION

A neighbourhood notification was conducted. 585 notices were delivered in the notification area (refer to Appendix A) on August 23rd, 2000 and one written response opposing the application was received prior to the finalization of the report. One phone message in support and three messages opposed to the application have also been received. Support for the application was based on the benefits of a daytime lunch venue and another after-work gathering place for employees of the local businesses. The opposing resident was concerned about the return of problems associated with the previous Cabaret business (eg. fights, loud music and noise until 2:30 a.m.).

A public meeting was held September 7th, 2000. The results of this will be presented to Council at the Committee meeting.

COMMENTS

The Police Department is not opposed to this change as the reduction of late night drinking seats is welcomed and encouraged.

The Planning Department has reviewed the application and noted that the site is located within the C-2C Zoning District. Records indicate that this portion of the building is currently approved as a restaurant/cabaret. A cabaret is not a permitted use within the C-2C Zoning District and is, therefore, considered to be an existing non-conforming use.

“Neighbourhood Public House” is a “conditional” approval use under the C-2C District Schedule. Any proposal to change the use to provide a neighbourhood public house and outdoor seating to be used in conjunction with the neighbourhood public house would require a development application.

As part of the application review, staff would include an assessment of the anticipated impact on neighbouring sites, in particular the residential sites across the lane to the north of the site, which are zoned RS-1S (One-Family Dwelling). An application of this type would also be reviewed in accordance with the Neighbourhood or Marine Public House Guidelines adopted by City Council on August 9, 1988, and the Liquor Licensing Policies and Procedures adopted by City Council on October 16 and November 6, 1990.

The Vancouver/Richmond Health Board has no objection as long as music levels are controlled and do not disturb neighbours and the patio doors remain closed if music is playing.

The Social Planning Department has no objection as long as the location of the patio does not impinge on the RS-1S houses to the south across the lane.

The Housing Centre has no concerns.

The Vancouver School Board was advised of the application but, to date, no response has been received.

CONCLUSION

Staff support the applicant’s request for a 65-seat plus 20-seat patio Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pub as these establishments typical have little impact on the surrounding community. Also, approval of the pub facilitates Council’s policy to relocate cabaret seats out of residential areas.

NOTE FROM CLERK: APPENDIX A (MAP) NOT AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORM - ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.

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