ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Chief License Inspector

SUBJECT:

957 Granville - KKBL No. 324 Ventures Ltd.
Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

THAT the 700, 800 and 900 blocks of Granville Street be designated as the Theatre Row Entertainment District; and

THAT allowances be made in principle for a combined total of up to 1000 Class `A' (Hotel Pub or Lounge), Class `C' (Cabaret) and Class `D' (Neighbourhood Pub) liquor licensed seats on Theatre Row.

On September 14, 2000, Council further recommended that:

On January 30, 2001, Council recommended that:

SUMMARY

KKBL No. 324 Ventures Ltd., is requesting a 65-seat Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub with a 20-seat patio at 957 Granville Street. The applicant contends that this is a transfer of a previously approved support-in-principle application for 950 Granville Street. This claim is based on the fact that Mr. Charles Wertman, who was the applicant for 950 GranvilleStreet, has a limited interest in this application for 957 Granville Street. Staff does not agree or accept this position and has stated that approvals are not transferrable between properties.

Furthermore, staff suggests to Council that the decision on this application may set a precedent for the four remaining time limited endorsements. Therefore, it is recommended that the Council policy of January 30, 2001, to not favourably consider future applications be continued with respect to this application.

PURPOSE

KKBL No. 324 Ventures Ltd., is requesting a Council resolution endorsing their application for a 65-seat with 20-seat patio Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub at 957 Granville Street.

BACKGROUND

Policy History

On June 19, 1997, Council created the Granville Street/Theatre Row Entertainment District and Liquor Policy for the Downtown Granville South area. Council passed in principle a plan allocating up to 1000 new liquor license seats to be distributed throughout the 700, 800 and 900 blocks of Granville Street. The report focussed on a policing strategy for each block, enforcement strategies, the creation of the new residential community in the Downtown South, preferences for having existing liquor license seats relocating from the surrounding residential areas to the Entertainment District and the process by which staff would screen the initial applicants for proposed establishments in the district.

On December 11, 1997, Council reviewed the results of a proposal call for applications for the Entertainment District and made minor changes to the Theatre Row Liquor Licensing Policy.

Council fully endorsed some of the applications from the original proposal call and gave support-in-principle approval to four other applications (a neighbourhood pub at 800 Granville Street, cabarets at 900 and 952 Granville Street and a neighbourhood pub at 950 Granville Street). The neighbourhood pub at 800 Granville Street completed the conditions of their support-in-principle approval and obtained their full endorsement approximately one year later (1998). The two remaining support-in-principle approvals (cabarets at 900 and 952 Granville Street) are still outstanding and these approvals now have a time limit to complete the conditions.

The time limits were added to the endorsements to ensure the applicants move forward with their developments and not prevent other applications for the 900 block of the Entertainment District from proceeding.

The third support-in-principle application from Mr. Wertman for 950 Granville has recently past the time limit for the applicant to satisfy the conditions of the endorsement. The original application was supported as it included the redevelopment of the site with a new heritage style building. As a result, staff will be advising the General Manager, Liquor Control and Licensing Branch that the conditions have not been met and the city no longer supports the application.

Since the decision on the original applications, staff has received a number of other applications for the Entertainment District. The majority of these applications have been for sites located on the 900 block of Granville Street, with some proposals on the 800 block and no applications for the 700 block.

Site History

An application for a Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub was submitted for this site during the original proposal call. The request was not endorsed for a variety of reasons, the primary one being that the objectives of the Entertainment District were to provide a variety of entertainment and the existing restaurant appeared to be a viable business at that time. It was also felt that other proposals were of a higher quality and would provide greater diversity.
Approximately one and a half years later a second neighbourhood pub application was filed. This was put on hold pending a staff update report on the Entertainment District and in particular the 900 block of Granville. During this period, the restaurant went into receivership and the application was cancelled.

This is the third application for a neighbourhood pub at this location and it was received on December 28, 2000. This application differs from the previous submission in that the applicant is proposing that this is a transfer or reallocation of seats from the conditional approval granted to Mr. Charles Wertman for a 65-seat Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub at 950 Granville Street.

Mr. Charles Wertman has advised that he is prepared to withdraw his application for 950 Granville. He is, however, a shareholder in KKBL No. 324 Ventures Ltd., and, on their behalf, is requesting the reallocation of the 65-seats plus a 20-seat patio from 950 to 957 Granville, (the Granville Room which is directly across the street). The Granville Room, (formerly Foghorn's Restaurant), 957 Granville, is currently operating as an 84-seat Restaurant-Class 1.

Area Surrounding Subject Premises

The subject premises are located in the Downtown (DD Zoning District). Within the survey area are retail, residential, office, cabaret, restaurant, arcade, hotel, social housing and theatre uses (refer to the appendix).

The closest provincial government liquor store is located at 1120 Alberni Street. Also within the 1000 foot radius of the site are five Class `A' Pubs (1084 seats), eight Class `A' Lounges (961 seats, including the 325 seats in the Law Courts Inn), eight Class `C' Cabarets (3006 seats which includes the 900 seat Commodore Cabaret and the 605 seats in two cabarets that have either partial or full endorsement), five Class `D' Neighbourhood Pubs (260 seats, which includes the three neighbourhood pubs that have either partial or full endorsements of their applications) and approximately 20 licensed restaurants. The neighbourhood pub at 950 Granville Street has been removed from the totals (refer to the appendix).

Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub Regulations and Policies

Class `D' Neighbourhood Pubs are entitled to operate a maximum of 14 hours per day, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday and 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight on Sunday. However, Liquor Control and Licensing Branch policy is to support 1:00 a.m. closing on Friday and Saturday nights only. The applicant is requesting operating hours of Sunday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight and Friday and Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The City requires patios to close at 11:00 p.m. All types of liquor may be served without food consumption.

The Granville Room restaurant is currently operating between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., seven days a week.

The proposal includes a games area of 300 sq. ft. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch policy allows games of skill, including darts, pool, shuffleboard and foosball in neighbourhood pubs providing they are confined to one area no greater than 20% of the licensed area. Also permitted are a maximum of three electronic games, one of which may be a stand-up model if the capacity of the establishment is 100 patrons or less.

DISCUSSION

Policy Issues

The application is for a 65-seat with a 20-seat patio, Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub. Council policy is not to give favourable consideration to new applications for the Granville Street/Theatre Row Entertainment District until current applications are in operation orwithdrawn and staff has reported back to Council on the impacts on the community and city resources. Although one application has passed the deadline, others are still outstanding and, more important, staff has not reported back to Council. Staff feels, therefore, that no further applications should be endorsed until all the conditions of Council policy have been fulfilled.

The above noted Council policy was implemented to address concerns, particularly by the Police Department, about the concentration of seats in the district, the total new seats and potential impact on community and city resources.

Staff feels that Council's decision will set a precedent for all the time limited approvals in the Entertainment District. Approval of the application would set a precedent that the application time limits are not definitive and that it is possible to extend the life of an application by varying the original endorsement, e.g., change of site. Such actions could effectively reinstate the log jam Council had previously removed in September 2000. Therefore, refusal of the application sends a clear message to this applicant and the four other time limited cabaret approvals that the time limits are definitive and Council expects the applicants to satisfy the conditions of approval, or clear the path for new proposals.

Council's previously approved new establishment distribution for the 900 block was set and filled at three neighbourhood pubs and two cabarets. In January of this year, Council endorsed, subject to a number of conditions, two more cabarets, which resulted in a distribution for the 900 block of three neighbourhood pubs and four cabarets. In mid March, the Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub conditional endorsement for 950 Granville expired as the applicant failed to satisfy the specified conditions within the time limit. As a result, excluding this application or a separate application yet to be brought before Council, the distribution is two neighbourhood pubs and four cabarets, which exceeds the original policy.

Benefits of Proposal

Small neighbourhood pubs do not usually create problems in the area or impact on city resources. However, the site dynamics of this particular application are different from the typical pub application in that there is a concentration of liquor establishments in the immediate proximity. Usually, neighbourhood pubs are somewhat isolated from other primary liquor service venues. As a result, staff cannot determine with certainty what impact the concentration of licensed premises will have on the pub's operation.

The proposed west side of Granville Street location, as with most aspects of the application, has both good and bad points. Too many establishments on the same side of the street have the potential for increased problems associated with mingling lineups on the sidewalks. The recent endorsement of two new cabarets on the west side of the street has resulted in the real possibility of this issue becoming a problem on both of the 900 block faces. However,establishments on the same side of the street tend to reduce jay walking and associated pedestrian/vehicle incidents. Conversely, those on opposite sides of the street would tend to increase this problem. Finally, having establishments on both sides of the street should increase the vibrancy and vitality of street activity.

Implication on Granville Street Entertainment District

If approved, it is difficult to ascertain what implications this application would have for the Entertainment District. It is unclear to staff at this time which existing approvals will be carried through to completion. As a result, it is not possible to adequately predict potential impacts on the area.

As stated earlier, the conditional endorsement for the neighbourhood pub at 950 Granville has expired. Therefore the total number of seats for the 900 block and Entertainment District is reduced by 65-seats and this, with the exclusion of this request and a separate application at 980 Granville, gives a potential new seat total of 1140 seats which is still 140 seats over the original Council limit of 1000 for the district. Further, the potential total seating capacity for the 900 block only (existing and new) is 1010 seats. This is 110 seats over the upper limit of the Council approved policing strategy for the district.

Transferability of Existing Endorsements or Reallocation of Seats

The applicant contends that this application is a reallocation of previously approved seats (950 Granville) and/or a pseudo transfer since one of the owners has an interest in both applications. Staff does not disagree with the applicant's argument that, if approved, this would be a reallocation or transfer of seats. However, staff has emphatically and consistently stated to this applicant, and any other applicant in similar circumstances, that any endorsement granted by Council is tied to a specific site or property.

It is possible, under certain circumstances, for the applicant/ownership to change on an endorsement without requiring an amendment to the original or even a new endorsement. However, under no circumstances can an application change location or site without requiring a new report to Council and, subsequently, a new resolution. When an applicant requests to change the site of a previous endorsement, the new site is treated as a new application. Staff must assess the application in the new location and must also consider any new Council policy that may have been implemented since the previous approval.

In this case both the ownership and the location have changed. Also, new Council policy has been introduced since the original conditional approval was granted in December 1997. Mr. Wertman is only a limited shareholder in the venture but, along with his family, was the lone stakeholder of the 950 Granville application. Mr. Wertman was allocated 65 seats at the timeof the original proposal call, but that decision has no bearing on this application. Council is not obligated to favourably consider this request because of a previous allocation of seats in another location.

Furthermore, the removal of an endorsement of 65 Class `D' Neighbourhood Pub seats allocated more than three years ago does not necessarily mean that those seats are put back into the pool and are eligible for the next person that comes along with an application. The loss of those seats will bring Council back closer to the original target figure of only 1000 new seats in the Entertainment District. In a sense, these seats have already been reallocated to the two cabaret relocations that were approved in January 2001. There is also another application for a neighbourhood pub at 965 Granville, which was received prior to this application.

RESULTS OF NOTIFICATION

On March 8, 2001, 865 neighbourhood notifications were distributed in the area and only one response was received. This letter raised concerns but was neither for nor against the application.

COMMENTS

The Police Department is opposed to the application based on the existing concentration of liquor licensed establishments in the block.

Planning Department records indicate that the existing building is currently approved for Restaurant-Class 1. The subject site is located within subarea "K1" of the Downtown (DD) Zoning District. A Neighbourhood Public House is listed as a conditional use in the Downtown Official Development Plan (DD ODP). In accordance with Section 2, Retail Continuity of the DD ODP, Granville Street would require continuous ground floor retail, retail-commercial and service uses. Any proposal to change the use from Restaurant-Class 1 to a Neighbourhood Public House will require a development application.

As part of the review process, staff would include an assessment of the anticipated impacts on nearby sites, and particularly any residential uses. As well, an application of this type would be reviewed in accordance with the provisions of the Neighbourhood or Marine Public House Guidelines adopted by City Council on August 9, 1988.

The Vancouver/Richmond Health Board has no objection as long as the patio is closed by 11:00 p.m.

The Social Planning Department and Housing Centre do not support the request and feel the existing Council policy regarding new applications be maintained.

CONCLUSION

Staff contends that the application should not be endorsed as a matter of Council policy due to the overall number of seats in the entertainment area and the concentration of seats on the 900 block. Staff follows Council policy not to favourably consider future applications until a proper assessment of community and city impacts is completed, which can only take place after the existing approved establishments are open and operating.

Further, staff recommends that for the purposes of clarity, Council formally adopt a policy to not support transfers of liquor license endorsements between properties.

ATTACHMENTS THAT DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC COPY ARE AVAILABLE ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE

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