05/24/1999 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM May 19, 1999 to: Mayor and City Councilmembers from: Jeff Smyser subject: Liquor Ordinance At the May 10 City Council meeting, the Council tabled the first reading of Ordinance 13 -99, amending the liquor code. The Council directed staff to examine further the issue of the separation between liquor establishments and schools and churches. The questions included: 1. Can the Town Center can be excepted from the separation requirement? 2. How do we define schools? 3. Should the separation apply to parks? After these questions are answered, you will find the summary of the changes to the ordinance. There is one difference from the summary you saw last time. At the request of Chief Pecchia, Section 701.05 Subd. 1 now shows an increase in the investigation fee. 1. Town Center As Exception I have discussed with the City Attorney the question of making the Town Center a special exception to the separation requirement. The issue here is one of treating everyone fairly. We would need to establish a sound reason for exempting the Town Center. What is different about the Town Center that eliminates the perceived problem caused by the proximity of a liquor license to a school? We must treat all people equally. Bill Hawkins does not believe we can make the Town Center a special exception. The first option is simply to reduce the separation, from 1000 feet to 400. The other option is a definition of schools that excludes the early childhood learning center. The reason would be that children at this facility are not unsupervised when traveling to and from the facility.