ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: November 26, 1998
Author/Local:Guy Gusdal (6461)
RTS No. 148

CC File No. 2611

TO:	Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission
FROM:	Chief License Inspector
SUBJECT:	Licensed Premises - Extension of Tolerance Period

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council advise the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch it supports a two-phased approach to provide for extension of the closing tolerance period from 30 minutes to 60 minutes for all Class `C' Cabaret liquor licenses located in the defined Phase One and Phase Two areas subject to conditions and an implementation schedule set by Council.

B. THAT Council advise the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch it supports immediate implementation of the extension of the closing tolerance period from 30 to 60 minutes for all Class `C' Cabaret liquor licenses in the Phase One Area ("South Downtown" including the Theatre Row Entertainment District) as defined by the following boundaries; south of West Georgia Street to False Creek and East of Thurlow Street to Pacific Boulevard (see Appendix A), subject to:

i) a signed Good Neighbour Agreement by all business licensees wishing to implement this privilege, and

ii) an understanding that the Liquor Control and License Branch would roll back this privilege for cabaret operators that have demonstrated consistent noncompliance with Liquor Licensing Regulations.

C. THAT staff report back on the feasibility of implementing the extension of the closing tolerance period from 30 to 60 minutes in the Phase Two Area which is defined as the remainder of the Downtown Peninsula not included in Phase One.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of A, B and C.

COUNCIL POLICY

As part of the report creating the Granville Street Theatre Row Entertainment District in June of 1997, Council approved a recommendation to provide as one of the incentives to attract applicants to Theatre Row on a trial basis, an extension of the closing time of Class `C' Cabarets to 3:00 a.m., with no alcoholic beverages sold after 2:00 a.m., thereby minimizing the number of people exiting onto the street at the same time.

PURPOSE

To provide a mechanism to minimize the number of people exiting cabarets located in the South Downtown area, into the neighbouring residential community at one time.

BACKGROUND

The extension of the closing tolerance period is presently used in two other communities in British Columbia. Since the extended closing tolerance period has been used in these communities there has been little or no impact on policing resources. In fact there may actually have been a reduction in the number of calls for police service related to these liquor license establishments.

Staff have participated in an extensive public dialogue as part of the Granville Street liquor licensing report (Theatre Row Entertainment District and Downtown Granville South). Part of this discussion involved impacts of permitting cabarets to remain open to 3:00 a.m., thereby giving the operators one hour to disperse customers instead of the existing 30 minutes. Liquor service would still cease at 2:00 a.m. General support was received for this proposal by the residents. Residents viewed the proposal as an opportunity to reduce the frequency of late night disturbances provided there was a mechanism to remove this privilege if disturbances increase or other problems arise with particular operators.

DISCUSSION

The extension of the closing tolerance period has not been tried in Vancouver. While it appears to be successful in two other municipalities, a two-phased approach is proposed for Vancouver, limited to the Downtown Peninsula. Given Vancouver's significant number and concentration of liquor licensed establishments in the Downtown, it is prudent to be cautious when proposing changes to the operating conditions of these businesses.

At present only Class `C' Cabaret liquor licenses will be considered for the extension of the closing tolerance period in the Phase One or Two areas. The cabaret license is the only category being considered at this time because of the uniform and short hours of operation of this classification relative to the other license categories. All cabarets must close at 2:00 a.m. Monday to Saturday and 12:00 midnight on Sunday. This would simplify the extension and keep it consistent for all Class `C' Cabaret license holders.

Phase One of the implementation plan would be limited to the area bounded on the north by West Georgia Street, the west by Thurlow, the south and east by False Creek. See Appendix A. There are presently 18 cabarets operating in this area and three cabarets that have been approved or approved in principal in the Theatre Row Entertainment District but have not yet begun operation. Limiting the first phase to this area should provide an excellent opportunity to determine the impact of this policy on a statistically relevant portion of the city and provide staff with the information necessary to evaluate the expansion of the policy into the Phase Two area. The analysis may also demonstrate that the extension of the closure tolerance period did not have the desired effect and that it is necessary to eliminate the privilege in the Phase One area and thus abandon the use of the thirty minute extensions anywhere in the City at that time.

Staff feel that the public consultation which has taken place to date in the Theatre Row Entertainment District and the Downtown Granville South area has been sufficient to satisfy the requirements for public input for this area.

It is expected that Phase One should be operational for approximately 12 months before consideration should be given to expanding the policy into the Phase Two area. The area for Phase Two is defined as the remainder of the Downtown Peninsula not included in Phase One. There are approximately ten cabarets located in the Phase Two area. A public process would be required prior to implementation of this policy in the second area as there is a significant nearby residential component, particularly in Gastown and the West End.

While this policy appears to be effective in other municipalities, staff are unsure if the benefits will be as significant here in Vancouver given the density of the residential development in the downtown and that a large number of these dwelling units are owner-occupied.

CONCLUSION

Staff support the extension of the closing tolerance period on a limited basis, for a specific class of license and with a gradual implementation strategy. It is expected that allowing an additional thirty minutes for customers to disperse from the cabarets, once alcohol service has ceased, will result in fewer people emptying onto the streets at the same time. In turn this should translate into fewer public disturbances due to large groups of intoxicated people meeting on the street at 2:30 a.m., resulting in noise complaints and fights.

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

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver