Vancouver City Council |
CITY OF VANCOUVER
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date:
November 18, 2003
Author:
Guy Gusdal
Phone No.:
604.871.6461
RTS No.:
03785
CC File No.:
2616-8
Meeting Date:
December 2, 2003
TO:
Vancouver City Council
FROM:
Chief License Inspector
SUBJECT:
1412 Cartwright Street - Liquor Primary (Concert Hall)
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council, having considered the majority of area residents and business operators to be in favour of the application as determined by neighbourhood notification, the proximity of residential developments, traffic patterns, road access, availability of parking, noise impacts, social facilities, public buildings, overall design, and Council policy as outlined in the Administrative Report 1412 Cartwright Street - Class `E' Concert Hall Granville Island Cultural Society - Waterfront Theatre & Performance Works dated February 27, 2003, and this Administrative Report 1412 Cartwright Street - Liquor Primary (Concert Hall) dated November 18, 2003, endorse the request by Granville Island Cultural Society for a 75 seat Liquor Primary (Concert Hall) liquor license at the Waterfront Theatre & Performance Works, 1412 Cartwright Street subject to:
i. The service of alcohol limited to 120 minutes prior to a performance, during intermission, and up to 120 minutes after a performance;
ii. The service of alcohol is not permitted in the seating area of the theatre;
iii. Alcohol service is not permitted between the hours of 12:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 12:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Monday;
iv. The signing of a Good Neighbour Agreement; and
v. Adherence to clean air practices.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services recommends approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no applicable Council Policy.
PURPOSE
Revise the wording of the original Council endorsement of March 13, 2003 for the Granville Island Cultural Society - Waterfront Theatre & Performance Works' application for a Liquor Primary (Class `E' Concert Hall) liquor license at 1412 Cartwright Street to satisfy the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch requirements for the new provincial application process.
BACKGROUND
Council considered the original application and passed a motion on March 13, 2003 regarding the request for a Class `E' Concert Hall Liquor License that was allowed to lapse by the previous Society's management.
This application was processed while the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch implemented the new liquor regulations and subsequently a new liquor license application process. Prior to proceeding with the application, staff requested and received confirmation from the applicant's agent that they had an application with the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) under the "old" application process. Staff brought the application forward to Council with resolution wording in compliance with the regulatory process for the "old" application process. Staff were recently advised that there was in fact no provincial application in under the "old" LCLB process. As such, the application must meet the regulation requirements of the new application process. The applicant has been advised by the LCLB staff that the original council resolution does not conform to new LCLB regulations. The resolution did not specifically mention certain prescribed criteria as required by the provincial regulations. The applicant has requested a modified council resolution which would satisfy the LCLB policy.
Under the new LCLB application process, a new Liquor Primary liquor license application must be processed initially by the LCLB before the application is referred to the Local Government for comments. Therefore, this application should never have been submitted to Council this past March. However, it should be noted that the LCLB staff have been accommodating to the applicant and processed the provincial application as expeditiously as possible. Unfortunately, the regulations pertaining to the wording of Local Government resolutions are quite specific and the LCLB staff require a revised Council resolution.
DISCUSSION
The Liquor Control and Licensing Regulations require that Local Governments consider and comment on the following criteria as part of their decision:
a) The location of the establishment;
b) The proximity of the establishment to other social or recreational facilities and public buildings;
c) The person capacity and hours of liquor service of the establishment;
d) The number and market focus or clientele of liquor primary licence establishments within a reasonable distance of the proposed location;
e) Traffic, noise, parking and zoning;
f) Population, population density and population trends;
g) Relevant socio-economic information;
h) The impact on the community if the application is approved.
Much of the above information was not a requirement for local government's consideration as part of the application process under the old processing system. As such, the original February 27, 2003 report was deficient to at least 3 of the new process criteria. The following sections address the deficiencies of the previous report.
Target Market
Staff do not believe that the applicant's proposed clientele will adversely impact the clientele of other Liquor Primary establishments in the area. The theatre has been in operation for sometime and their particular clientele appears to be well established.
Population
Staff acknowledge that the population for Vancouver is increasing and it appears that the population trend shall remain positive.
Socio-economic Information
The LCLB Application Summary Report indicates that no Contravention Notices were issued to Liquor Primary establishments within ¼ mile of the subject site between December 1, 2001 and November 30, 2002. However, the report does not contain any information with respect to Contravention Notices in Food Primary establishments (Restaurants).
Social Facilities & Public Buildings
There are no social facilities or public buildings within a ¼ mile radius of the site, as a result, Staff do not feel that there will be any negative impact on such facilities if this application were approved.
Community Impact
Due to the hours of operation, size of the venue and the limitation of allowing liquor service only in conjunction with a performance, staff do not feel this liquor license will adversely impact the surrounding community. However, this staff position is contingent on the LCLB monitoring and enforcing the terms and conditions of the liquor license.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommend that the revised Council Resolution as presented in this report be adopted by Council in order for the applicant to be able to receive consideration by the LCLB as soon as possible. Although it is frustrating to have to review and change these types of resolutions in order to meet the exact wording requirements of the LCLB, it appears that the City has no alternative at this point. Staff are pursuing this issue with the Branch.
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