SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 5CS&B AGENDA
NOVEMBER 28, 1996
POLICY REPORT
LICENSING AND PERSONNEL
Date: November 19, 1996
Dept.File No.2206IC.COV
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Directors of Permits and Licenses and Central Area Planning,
in consultation with the Directors of Social Planning,
Finance, Legal Services and the Chief Constable
SUBJECT: Staffing Required to Improve By-Law Enforcement for Licensed
Establishments and for Problem Premises
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council approve a License Coordinator and two clerical
support positions in the Permits and Licenses Department, and
a Lawyer and one half clerical support position in the Law
Department, as regular full-time positions as set out in
Appendix A at a 1996 cost of approximately $309,800;
FURTHER THAT the staff positions outlined in Appendix A be
approved subject to job evaluations by the Director of Human
Resource Services;
AND FURTHER THAT an annual overtime budget of $30,000 be
allocated to the Permits and Licenses Department for evening
and weekend inspections by the Property Use Inspectors.
B. THAT the ongoing costs for this program expansion be recovered
through Business License fees as proposed in the accompanying
report on 1997 Business Licenses.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A
and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
On July 11, 1996, in dealing with the proposed Liquor Licensing Strategy
for the Downtown area, Council resolved:
THAT the Director of Permits and Licenses, in consultation with
appropriate City and Provincial enforcement agencies, report back
with ways to ensure better coordination of enforcement resources so
that licensed establishments which are having significant negative
impacts on their neighbours are dealt with under existing
regulations in a timely manner, and include recommendations to:
a) determine the need and source of funding for a
coordinator who would monitor problem premises,
coordinate evidence, interview new licensees and provide
liquor license information;
b) provide funding for evening and weekend inspections by
the Property Use Inspectors to allow for joint
inspections with the Police Department. The costs of new
levels of service are to be offset by cost reductions or
new revenues.
SUMMARY
This report recommends the establishment of five new positions to
coordinate enforcement for problem premises. It is proposed that these
staff be allocated to the Law and Permits and Licenses Departments, and
that the funding come from a Business License fee increase.
PURPOSE
This report proposes creation of new staff positions to better
coordinate the licensing of liquor establishments, to improve by-law
enforcement under the Zoning and Development and License Bylaws for
problem premises, and to facilitate community based solutions to reduce
the impacts of entertainment uses and problem premises on residential
areas.
BACKGROUND
As described in the April 26, 1996, reports on Downtown Liquor Licensing
Policy, one of the most pressing liquor licensing issues is that the
impacts of poorly run drinking establishments can persist for years
without satisfactory resolution. In addition, numerous problem
businesses have recently been identified by staff and the Police
Department, such as pawnshops, 24-hour stores and restaurants, many of
which are in the Downtown Eastside Area. The City's ability to enforce
has not kept up with the dramatic increase in problem premises. An
important contributing factor to this issue is the lack of staff who are
specifically responsible for ensuring that all affected departments work
together in preparing, implementing and following up on responses to
problem premises.
The need for coordination and increased enforcement is becoming urgent,
because:
- Enforcement policies and procedures are complex, time
consuming and generally require the involvement of several
departments.
- In recent years, the number of active problem premises files
has grown from a norm of about four to between 30 and 40
annually. License reviews should be carried out for many of
these, while some need to be scheduled for show cause
hearings.
- It has become regular practice for the Property Use Branch and
the Police Department to coordinate and conduct joint
inspections on problem premises whenever possible. These
inspections are needed because, while police enforcement
action against criminal activities may become delayed or
sometimes lost in the court process, the Property Use Branch
can provide quicker enforcement under the Zoning and
Development and License By-laws.
- Staff in Permits and Licenses and Planning receive dozens of
liquor license enquiries every week, but there is no one
person responsible for tracking these enquiries and ensuring
they are dealt with thoroughly and consistently.
- Without adequate staff resources, it is not possible to do the
proactive work needed to establish a more consistent and
efficient liquor license application review process, create a
more effective process for dealing with problem premises, and
generate a more comprehensive information exchange with
license holders, applicants, the public and provincial
government staff.
- In some areas of the City, the types of business and the
attitude of business owners have changed, resulting in little
regard for City regulations and the laws in general.
- The Law Department is already stretched to the limit, and an
enhanced enforcement program will lead to delays for
prosecution, unless additional resources are obtained.
DISCUSSION
In order to deal with enforcement issues in all types of business and
fulfil our mandate to regulate problem premises, the following
additional resources have been identified:
- A License Coordinator position to coordinate enforcement
tasks, with support provided by a clerical position.
- A Clerk Typist position to provide support for the Property
Use Inspectors, as there are 25 inspectors with no dedicated
clerical backup. These Inspectors carry out their own
research, answer general enquiries and look for assistance
from staff in other areas.
- An additional Lawyer and half-time support person in the Law
Department to expedite legal action.
These additional staff will be responsible for the following:
- coordinate responses to problem premises between the Permits
and Licenses, Police, Fire and Health Departments, as well as
trouble-shooting problems before they become big issues;
- process liquor license applications, interview applicants and
prepare reports to the Liquor Licensing Commission for all
areas of the City;
- field all liquor license and potential problem premises
enquiries, track proposals, provide information on policies
and procedures to prospective applicants and the public;
- act as a City staff liaison with counterparts in the
provincial Liquor Control and Licensing Branch;
- provide information and advice to the Liquor Licensing
Commission regarding applications and problem premises, and
provide research and information support to Council members
who negotiate with the Province for changes to liquor license
regulations;
- provide general information to the public and support for the
inspectors, including typing of Operators Permits, researching
files and providing telephone updates to the inspectors in the
field;
- gather evidence and coordinate license reviews and show cause
hearings, and ensure penalties are followed up;
- conduct evening and weekend inspections in coordination with
the Police Department, in order to monitor and enforce the
Zoning and Development and License Bylaws;
- provide legal support for N.I.S. Teams and assist with
enforcement action on problem businesses;
- provide additional resources for the By-law Prosecutor's
Office to ensure timely processing of by-law prosecution.
The current Business License system is approximately 25 years old, with
no capacity to retain historical data, identify problem premises, track
problem owners or identify areas of concern. The new system (recently
approved by Council) is scheduled for implementation in February 1997,
and will be capable of providing this type of information to the
proposed new staff.
The proposed positions will be permanent and full time. The Liquor
Coordinator and clerical assistant would be supervised by the Assistant
Director of Permits and Licenses. The additional law resources would be
located within the Law Department.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Creation of these staffing positions will ensure more timely and
effective by-law enforcement and community based resolution to problem
premises and related issues, thereby reducing their impacts on
surrounding residential areas.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Over the past few years, enforcement resources have been re-allocated
from other areas of the Permits and Licenses Department to deal with the
high priority issues. It has now reached the point where many problem
businesses are not being dealt with in a timely manner. The proposed
new resources could be funded by a general Business License fee increase
as proposed in a companion report.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommend approval of the new resources identified in this report
as a key step in implementing Council s Liquor Licensing Policy and to
reduce the impacts of problem premises, especially in the Downtown
Eastside and Downtown South areas, where there are significant
concentrations of entertainment uses and problem businesses. In the
past, the City has relied on voluntary owner compliance and the Police
Department's ability to deal with criminal activities. We have reached
the point where these methods are no longer effective and the City needs
to take a proactive enforcement role with regard to the operation of
problem businesses that impact heavily on residential neighbourhoods.
* * *
APPENDIX A
Page 1 of 1
STAFF AND RESOURCE NEEDS FOR FIVE NEW POSITIONS FOR LIQUOR
LICENSE AND PROBLEM PREMISE COORDINATION
ANNUAL COSTS
Salaries and Fringe Benefits: 293,600.00
ONE TIME COSTS
Office furniture and computers 33,200.00
Overhead: (Training, Wiring,
Office Supplies) 6,000.00
License software 7,000.00 46,200.00
TOTAL COSTS $339,800.00
1. New staff positions are subject to evaluation by the Director of
Human Resource Services. The above figures are estimates based on
expected responsibilities, work program and office needs.
2. A PC for each staff member is necessary in order to create, monitor
and regularly update a data base of liquor license enquiries,
applications, problem premises and recommended actions. This would
allow for better issue management, proactive policy work, and
information support for other departments, the Liquor Licensing
Commission and Council.