04/22/1991 Council Minutes (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 1 1 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1991 There was no further comment from the audience and Council Member Reinert moved to close the public hearing at 7:32 P.M. Council Member Bohjanen seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hawkins explained that there are two (2) issues in this matter. Does the application meet the legal requirements. This has been checked by the City Clerk and the Chief of Police and all legal requirements have been met. The second issue is whether or not the application meets zoning requirements. There is no limit to the number of off -sale licenses that the City can issue. Further, there are no restrictions in the zoning ordinance on this matter. The City does have the ability to place certain restrictions regarding liquor establishments in the zoning code. Mr. Hawkins noted the legal matter that Brooklyn Center was concerned with regarding three (3) gas stations on one (1) intersection. He noted that it is not the function of the City to decide whether a business will be successful or not. The zoning ordinance must be amended if the City wants to place restrictions on any business. Council Member Neal moved to approve the off -sale liquor license for Douglas R. Hughes. Council Member Bohjanen seconded the motion. Council Member Kuether said she felt the ordinance was vague and it may be up to the Council to use good discretion in this matter. Mr. Hawkins explained that there is nothing in the ordinance that says you cannot have three (3) or more off -sale liquor stores in one area. Council Member Neal noted that when Ross' Liquor Store applied for their license in 1976, there were two (2) other licenses in the immediate area. He explained that Mr. McLean and Mr. Bohjanen were on the Council at that time and Mr. Bohjanen may remember that matter. Council Member Bohjanen said that he did not research the Ross liquor license. However, he has listened to the discussion this evening and can see no legal reason to deny the license application. He said he hoped there would be a revision to the ordinance regarding liquor licenses. Council Member Reinert asked Mr. Hawkins what would happen if the license request were denied? Mr. Hawkins said the applicant would have cause for action against the City. He said it appears that the only reason to deny the request is because there are two (2) stores in the immediate area. This reason is not supported in the City Code. It is clear that it is a permitted use and there are no restrictions on the number of licenses that the City can issue. If the City does decide to amend the City Code, it will have no affect on this application. PAGE 7 113