Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning & Environment

FROM:

Chief License Inspector

SUBJECT:

620 West Pender Street, 477633 B.C. Ltd. (Piccadilly Hotel)
Change of Hours in Class ‘A’ Pub

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

For existing Class ‘A’ Lounge/Pub, Class ‘C’ Cabaret or Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pub licensed establishments seeking extended hours or seating, Council has endorsed a process of requiring a time-limited Development Permit or a separate Legal Agreement which outlines conditions of operations.

PURPOSE

477633 B.C. Ltd., is requesting a Council resolution endorsing their request for a change in hours of operation to 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. Monday to Saturday and 12:00 noon until 12:00 midnight on Sunday, from the current hours of 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight Monday to Saturday and 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight on Sunday, in the Class ‘A’ Pub at the Piccadilly Hotel, 620 West Pender Street.

BACKGROUND

On July 25, 1996, the Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission did not endorse a similar request, having considered community opinion as determined by neighbourhood notification.

The applicant has pointed out that since the application in 1996, the Clarence Hotel (Malones Pub), 608 W. Pender, the Ramada Hotel (ex Niagara) 435 W. Pender and the St. Regis Hotel, 602 Dunsmuir, have all received approval to change the hours of operation.

The applicant reports that the pub has been focussing on live music entertainment, but since the other hotels in the area now remain open to 1:00 a.m., the hotel is losing many of its regular customers to those and other venues that are open until 1:00 a.m. or later.

The hours of operation for the hotels in close proximity to the subject site (listed below) are Monday to Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight:

The Piccadilly Hotel has 45 rooms and has been in operation for more than 100 years. Since taking over in 1990, the applicant has made a considerable investment in leasehold improvements to both the pub and exterior of the building. The hotel has recently qualified for a grant of $330,000 from the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) for rental units, and renovations are currently underway to upgrade the interior. As a condition of this grant, the hotel will remain as single room occupancy (SRO) for the next ten years. The applicant is willing to enter into an agreement with the City for use as an SRO hotel. When renovations are completed, the hotel intends to market the rooms to attract an older clientele who would benefit from living in a well run, secure facility.

The Piccadilly Hotel is located in the DD (Downtown) zoning district. The surrounding area is a mixture of business, retail and long-term residential hotel uses. The closest residential units are located in the upper floors of the Piccadilly and in the adjacent Clarence Hotel. There is also the Marble Arch Hotel, Ramada Hotel, Park Apartments, St. Clair Hotel and Central City Lodge, all located approximately within a one-block radius. Also within the survey area are two religious centres, the YWCA, BCIT Downtown Campus and Simon Fraser Downtown Campus (Appendix A.) The closest government liquor store is located at 555 West Hastings Street.

There is seven Class ‘A’ Pubs (1568 seats) nine Class ‘A’ Lounges (2082 seats), four Class ‘C’ Cabarets (797 seats) one Class ‘D’ Neighbourhood Pub (65 seats), and a second pub application at 337 W. Pender, which has received full Council endorsement, and approximately 21 licensed restaurants in the survey area.

DISCUSSION

On July 25, 1996, Council refused a similar application for a change in hours of operation. Since then, Council has introduced a policy requiring applicants to enter into a Legal Agreement allowing the extension of operating hours to be rolled back if problems develop. In light of this Legal Agreement, Council could endorse the applicant’s request for extended hours. Legal Agreements for extended operating hours have been signed and are in effect at the St. Regis Hotel and the Clarence Hotel pubs.

Staff feels that, given the limited number of residential units in close proximity to the Piccadilly Hotel, a neighbourhood notification is not required. The people most likely to be affected by the bar’s operation will be the Piccadilly’s own residents. Therefore, it is in the operator’s best interest to mitigate the bar’s impact on the surrounding neighbourhood.

Staff also feels that the business has generally operated well in the past. However, some recent incidents have been of significant concern to the Police Department. The applicant and his agent continue to meet with police members to try to resolve these issues.

Staff suggests that no changes be made to the liquor license until all issues surrounding the pub and hotel operations have been adequately addressed, and that these long-term solutions are effective and incorporated into the day-to-day operations of each business.

Given the requirement for a Legal Agreement, staff feels that once the outstanding issues are resolved, the application is supportable. However, the operator must be made aware that if problems resurface, the change in operating hours will be revoked.

It should be noted that Council recently endorsed a similar request for the Royal Hotel, 1025 Granville Street. In that decision, it was acknowledged there was a need to create a level playing field relative to the hotels in close proximity.

A similar situation exists with this application in that all the hotel bars in the vicinity have later closing hours. The Piccadilly Hotel pub shares clientele with these other hotels and, therefore, there is a high probability of “bar hopping” by the pubs’ patrons.

The federal grant under the RRAP requires that the 45 SRO rooms in the hotel be retained for the 10 years life of the loan. Therefore, staff feels it is unnecessary to require a Housing Agreement at this time. Should the applicant apply for operating hours beyond 1:00 a.m. in the future, then staff expects that, after further consultation with the community, any supportable application would be contingent upon a Housing Agreement securing the SROs and rates for a further period of time.

Finally, staff feels the location of the hotel within the commercial portion of the Central Business District is a positive factor for the application. Residential developments are not encouraged in this part of the Central Business District. The application will not affect the Liquor Policy Review currently under way in the Central Business District.

However, despite all the above noted positive aspects of this application, they do not outweigh the negative aspects of the current operation of the pub and hotel. Staff reiterates that no amendments to the liquor license, which would provide a benefit to the operator, be approved until the problems associated with the pub and hotel business operations have been completely resolved and all reasonable measures have been implemented to ensure similar problems do not recur.

COMMENTS

The Police Department has significant concern, and recommends that the application not be endorsed at this time.

The Planning Department notes that the site is located within the Downtown District and records indicate that the building is currently approved as a hotel and public house.

It should be noted that Council will give favourable consideration to endorsing applications for extensions of hours of operation or increased seating capacities in existing licensed establishments throughout the City, subject to neighbourhood consultation and Legal Agreements that deal with neighbourhood impacts and secure the affordability and upgrading of low-income housing, or which provide other significant public benefits, in accordancewith the Liquor Licensing Policies and Procedures adopted by City Council on October 16 and November 6, 1990.

The Vancouver/Richmond Health Board has no concerns or objections to this application.

The Social Planning Department note there is no adjacent nonmarket housing and is not aware of any special neighbourhood reasons why the hours should not be extended.

The Housing Centre supports the application in principle, subject to a Housing Agreement. The owner of the hotel has offered to maintain 47 SRO rooms. It should be noted that during the last nine years, 155 SRO rooms have been lost in this area due to conversion and demolition.

CONCLUSION
Despite the favourable location, the “unlevel playing field” argument with nearby hotels and the securing of SROs through the RRAP, staff cannot support the request for a change of hours at this time. Staff feels that once all issues with the pub and hotel operations are resolved, and a suitable time period has elapsed, the applicant can reapply for the change of hours.

NOTE FROM CLERK: Appendix A (map) is not available electronically - on file in the Office of the City Clerk.

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