SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 4
VLLC AGENDA
JULY 13,1995
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 4, 1995
Dept. File.2157AIC.COV
TO: Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission
FROM: Deputy Chief License Inspector
SUBJECT: 932 Granville Street - The Roxy Cabaret Ltd.
Increase in Seating Capacity
CONSIDERATION
A. THAT the Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission endorse the
application by The Roxy Cabaret Ltd., to increase the seating
capacity to 275 seats in the Class 'C' Cabaret at 932
Granville Street, subject to a 10-year housing agreement to
the satisfaction of the Manager of the Housing Centre and the
Director of Legal Services and the sound separation on the
ceiling of the cabaret being acceptable to the Director of
Environmental Health; and
B. THAT the City Clerk be instructed to not forward this
endorsement to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch until
these conditions have been met.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services submits the foregoing for
CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council Policy is that on an interim basis, no new liquor licenses or
amendments to existing liquor licenses to increase seating capacity or
extend hours of sale be permitted in Downtown South.
PURPOSE
The Roxy Cabaret Ltd., is requesting a Council resolution endorsing its
application for an increase in seating capacity in the Class 'C' Cabaret
from 195 to 275 seats.
BACKGROUND
The applicant originally applied for an increase in seating from 195
seats to a maximum of 325. This application was originally scheduled
for the June VLLC meeting and was not supported by staff. Prior to the
VLLC meeting, staff met with the applicant who agreed to defer the
application, pending further review.
The Granville South liquor license moratorium was established on May 28,
1992. Prior to this moratorium, the issue of increased seating and
noise problems related to the Roxy Cabaret, and poor living conditions
in the Siesta Hotel were raised and discussed at the Commission.
Acoustical consulting engineers reviewed the building, and staff worked
with the Roxy Cabaret and the building owner to try to alleviate the
unacceptable noise levels in the rooms directly above the cabaret. The
owner did not proceed with this work and the Roxy was caught between the
complaints of the tenants of the rooms and the owner's unwillingness to
upgrade the building.
The applicant also notes that an error was made in 1989 when the Fire
Commissioner calculated the maximum occupant load of the cabaret at 214.
This error was corrected and the occupant load was recalculated at 287,
after the establishment of the liquor license seats at 195.
Subsequently, the owner of the Roxy Cabaret purchased the building early
in 1995. As owner of the cabaret and the building, he has proceeded
with some room improvements, and now wishes to complete the sound
separation work to improve the livability of the SRO units. The owner
proposes to off-set the upgrading costs by an increase in seating, and
feels this building should be exempted from the moratorium because of
the earlier discussions. It is also noted that the owner intends to
further upgrade the building in the future, which may result in another
increase in seating application.
Staff from Planning, Permits & Licenses, Social Planning, Environmental
Health and the Manager of the Housing Centre have been meeting with the
applicant and negotiating a suitable agreement.
The applicant has offered to provide a legally binding guarantee that
for a 10-year period, the hotel rooms in the Siesta Hotel, above the
Roxy Cabaret, would be rented on a monthly basis at a rent affordable
for people on social assistance. The shelter
portion of welfare is currently $325. The applicant has also proposed
the provision of a sound separation between the cabaret and residential
units to mitigate noise levels and ensure the rooms are suitable for
occupancy. This proposal is consistent with Council policy to encourage
the upgrade, retention and eventual replacement of SRO units in the
Downtown South.
AREA DESCRIPTION
The subject premises are located on the Granville Mall, and are in the
DD Downtown District (Appendix A). The adjacent portion of Granville
Mall is developed with entertainment uses, such as theatres, arcades,
retail stores and restaurants. There are also several residential
hotels in the block, including the Siesta Hotel located directly above
this cabaret. The area to the south and east of the subject premises is
undergoing redevelopment to permit high density residential uses.
Within the survey area is the New Continental Hotel, Brookland Court,
Helmcken House and the Gresham Hotel, all subsidized residential
facilities. The closest B.C. government liquor store is located at 1120
Alberni Street.
Also within the survey area are three Class 'A' Pubs (699 seats), eight
Class 'A' Lounges (797 seats), nine Class 'C' Cabarets (2471 seats) and
approximately 28 licensed restaurants.
COMMENTS
The Police Department has reviewed the application, examined the
interior of the premises and found that there is sufficient rationale to
support the increased seating.
The Environmental Health Division notes that sound from the club is
expected to remain audible in the second floor rooms after the sound
separation is complete. Source music levels may have to be controlled
in order to maximize effectiveness. Sound levels on the third floor
will be minimized and the sound isolation will be much better on the
second floor, which will be more liveable than it is at present.
The Planning Department supports this application based on the retention
of the SRO units, the upgrading of the sound separation and the fact
that this issue was being considered prior to the liquor license
moratorium in Granville South.
The Social Planning Department is in support of this application.
The Manager of the Housing Centre supports this application in that the
applicant has agreed to secure the rooms in the Siesta Hotel as SRO
rooms, renting for the shelter portion of welfare for a 10-year period.
The proposal is innovative in that it indicates how a private owner and
the City can work together to implement Council policy on upgrading and
retaining SRO units. The arrangement that the housing would be both
secure and affordable would be a benefit to the residents and the
neighbourhood.
The Downtown Granville Tenants Association has surveyed the tenants of
the Siesta Hotel who have noted an improvement in the condition of the
hotel under the new ownership. The Association supports this
application for additional seating based on further improvements to the
hotel.
Staff recommend that a Housing Agreement, which would be registered on
title, be used and that the details of the Agreement be to the
satisfaction of the Manager of the Housing Centre and the Director of
Legal Services. The intent is to ensure that almost all the rooms be
covered by the Housing Agreement and be rented to people on income
assistance. About three to five rooms would be available to the owner
to rent to his staff. The owner has indicated that he would like to
improve some of the larger rooms to housekeeping units and rent these at
a higher rate such as $375 per month.
The Manager of Real Estate Services advises that the value of the
additional seats is approximately equal to the value of securing the
rooms for 10 years.
CONCLUSION
Staff generally support this application for increased seating, based on
the retention of the SRO units and the soundproofing between the
residential units and the cabaret.
Exempting this application from the moratorium can be justified by the
fact that an extension of seating and the soundproofing issue were
discussed prior to the implementation of the Granville South liquor
license moratorium.
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