Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 09071982 Meeting Sheet I III VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII IIIIII I I I I iozon Box:2i Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1982 Document: PL MINUTES 09071982 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 7 , 1982 The public hearing to consider amendments to the City Ordinance code was opened by Chairman Jones at 7 : 30 P .M. Present for roll .call : Zawislak, Peterson, Bjorklund, Jones , Makowske , and Bowerman. Absent: Sopcinski . Also present: David Childs , City Manager and William Soth, City Attorney. Mr. Childs summarized the two. .proposed- ordinance amendments which would limit the hours of operation of certain types of amusement/entertain- ment businesses in the City and would change certain uses from permitted to permitted conditional uses thereby giving the City more control over these operations . He confirmed for Mr. Bjorklund that it had been the Council who had initiated such action after - the strong demonstra- tion of . opposition from residents and neighbors against the 24 hour operation of a billiard parlor close to a residential neighborhood in the St. Anthony Village Shopping .Center during the Council ' s July 27th and August 10th. meetings . The Manager .had addressed the concerns which had been raised by the .public during these meetings in his August 10 , 1982 memorandum to the Commission. members and had included • in the agenda packet a copy of the notice of the hearing which had been published .in the Bulletin, August 26 , 1982 . The proposed ordinance had been prepared by Mr. Soth who had addressed them as well as other proposed ordinances to limit the number of beer and amusement device licenses which are issued by the City . in his August 24th cover letter which -was also included in the agenda packet along with copies of the Council minutes .. No one else responded to the Chairman's invitation to speak in favor of the proposed changes at that time. However, two representatives of .the C. G. Rein Co. , managers of Apache Plaza Shopping Center, and three persons representing Chick's Billiards spoke in opposition. The Rein Company 's. Attorney, Ted .Zinner, 300 Commerce Building, said his firm opposes changing the classification of restaurants , cafeterias , theatres , health clubs, bowling alleys , and other types of businesses and services now offered at Apache to conditionally permitted uses , requesting. to know what. police .problems had been demonstrated since the 1973 Code of Ordinances had been adopted which would j.ustify such a change . He termed such action- as "fighting paper dragons" and requested the City Attorney consider whether "you ought -to restrict business in this fashion, substantiating that such a change was based on a "rational , viable finding in fact" . He urged the City to check other municipal ordinances before acting, saying Edina and Bloomington- who both have large residential populations , do provide for those types of businesses . He speculated that, although there are at present .no establishments in • Apache which operate past 1:00 A.M. , the trends might change and there might be a need for all night bowling and for persons to utilize the -2- health club past that time . He also foresaw the possibility that an all night restaurant might want to open on Apache property. When • Mr. Jones indicated he believed this might be permissible , Mr. Soth indicated that under the ordinance limiting hours of operation this would not be possible. .12r. Zinner said Apache had relied on the City Ordinance since 1973 to attract tenants to the shopping center and Mr. Soth told him the proposed .ordinance changing certain types of businesses from "per- mitted" to "conditionally permitted .uses" should have no effect on existing businesses which are "grandfathered in"' but is written rather to give the City greater control over new businesses . Mr. Zinner reiterated_ that the shopping center management has rented retail space based on the existing ordinance and now would be restricted somewhat in their operation-. Mr. Zinner felt the Apache management had demonstrated good .business judgement in the past and such decisions should continue to be left to the owners . Mr. Bjorklund doubted whether . there .had been many businesses in Apache which had wanted tostay open past 1:00 A.M. Mr.. Zinner said the Italian restaurant had stayed open past 1:00 A.M. occasionally and though he conceded .that at this time there were .no businesses. which stay open past one o' clock, he said that in. other parts of the country, retail areas do stay open all night and Apache wants to be able to go along with any change -in retailing trends .which might come to this area in the future. • Dennis Hagstrom, Attorney , W. 1100 First National Bank, St. Paul , identified himself as the attorney representing Chick 's Billiards which would open in the St. Anthony Shopping Center .within the next week or so. , fie said - he could not understand why the City anticipated problems with the billiard parlor since the owner,. Mr. Springfield, had brought in witnesses to testify that such concerns were unfounded because of the way in which he operates his business in Coon Rapids , and the attorney .indicated he is certain "with all the questions raised by the Council and the residents, any problems with the operation would have been found by now" . Mr. Hagstrom said he believes these fears are based instead on preconceived ideas about pool halls and insisted that limiting the hours of -operation would directly affect his client'.s .business , .a majority of which is done in the hours between 9 : 30 P.M. and 12 :00 A.M. and again between 1 :00 A.M. and 3 :00 or 4 :OO .A.M. With. the self-imposed .curfews for minors of 9 : 30 P.M. during the school year and midnight during the summer, the legal representative believes the City "has no basis in fact for imposing time restrictions" . The Chairman told Mr.. Hagstrom .the neighbors were concerned because Chick 's in St. Anthony would be only 150 feet from residential dwell- ings . Bob Rhoades , an employee of Chick 's , 10266 Hanson Boulevard, disputed the statement that there is a great difference between the two locations , saying "Chick 's at 85th and University is one block from homes in front of the establishment" . Mr. Zawislak told Mr. Rhoades he has visited the Coon Rapids site and found the establishment is on • a commercial street with completely different traffic patterns that would be found in St. Anthony. The billiards proprietor responded that most of Chick' s customers use East River Road, which passes a heavily inhabited residential area. -3- Mrs . Makowske asked. the City Attorney whether the new ordinance would directly affect Chick' s and he told her that "although it had been • erroneously reported in the newspaper that the establishment would not be affected, the ordinance amendment regarding hours of operation would apply to Chick 's . " Roger Soringfield, Brooklyn Park, one of the Chick ' s owners , saw the restriction of hours .as "dictating the recreational hours for people who work. late hours , " which he believes would be discriminatory. At this point, Mrs . Makowske reported Mrs . Gerber had .requested the minutes for the August 10th Council meeting be amended to indicate on Page 9 that "no .one had -refused to sign the Petition but rather, there might have been some people who wouldn ' t sign for others" . Mark Kozlak, 2612 Murray Avenue., a Cityresident who lives near the St. Anthony Shopping Center, reported discussing the City of Eagan's ordinance with that City' s manager, Tom Hedges , and. indicated a pre- cedent for restricting hours of operation had been established in that ordinance and the one -for Mendota Heights and others Mr. Kozlak knows of. He told Mr. - Bjorklund his family ' s restaurants around the metropolitan area as a rule open at 11: 30 A.M. and close by 1:00 ' A.M. However, years ago his grandfather and father had lobbied .the State Legislature to get hours for serving alcohol restricted to midnight. Mr. Bowerman said he was concerned that neither the Apache representa- tives or Chick' s legal representative had availed themselves of the opportunity to review the 30 pages of minutes reporting the neighbors ' • concerns which were -voiced during the July 27 and August 10 Council meetings. Copies of those minutes were distributed. Air. Zinner said if he had known about them, he certainly would have read them. The Commission member added that he is also concerned. with the inference that the City is rushing- into ordinance changes , "they just picked .up out of nowhere" . Rather, hesaid,. the proposed ordinance changes are not only a reaction to current concerns , but represent the City 's desire to develop laws which- will avert problems in the future . The Chairman told Mr. Zinner .the reason the Planning Commission is considering the ordinance amendments at a special meeting is because, "with the new sign, ordinance we are writing and the time demands of usual zoning requests , the Commission normally sits until around 11 : 00 P.M. each meeting -and a matter as important as this one , could not be dealth with satisfactorily at a regular meeting" . Mr. Bjorklund told those present a review of 'past Commission minutes would indicate he personally has been lobbying . for changes in the ordinance which would have dealt-.with the problems- being addressed now. Chairman Jones asked Mr. Soth whether it would' be feasible to write an ordinance which would permit the Council . to grant a .variance which would permit an all-night restaurant to operate in the City if such a request came in. Mr. Soth .said the only way such an operation could be per- mitted to operate would be to .change the ordinance , since any conditions placed on the use would have to -be more , rather than less ,: restrictive. Mr. Peterson agreed the ordinancecould be changed if the need arose , • and if the City should ever have a business which operates three shifts , but added, "there are no three shift operations here now" . -4- Mr. Zinner asked whether. the concerns expressed about the billiard parlor operation had been directly related to the categories of -business • which would be affected by the proposed ordinances and Mr. Soth told him his instructions in. preparing the ordinance -amendments had been to find any business which is open to- ,the public and where the public congregates and where disturbances. and noise might be generated in the early morning hours_. The - Rein attorney questioned whether there had been resident input- regarding -those other categories and Mr. Soth told him the' Council had also based its decision regarding those businesses on the findings of a Minneapolis study which related entertainment/ amusement establishment location to increase in crime rates , decrease in property values- and -other adverse impacts on the adjacent areas . He conceded the study had -been based on the socio-economic character- istics .of the Minneapolis neighborhoods . Dor. Springfield said the original petition .which 409 persons had signed had been against the beer license .and not against the 24 hour operation of the..billiards parlor and - it is his personal belief that . "you can get most people to sign almost -anything you ask them to sign" . Mr-. Kozlak disputed this assumption about this particular petition saying he lives in the area and knows almost everyone who signed the petition-.and believes their prime consideration was the hours of operation since they already knew: beer was served in.- the bowling alley until 1 :00 A.M. Mr. Rhoades was admant in saying the petition was only against the beer license and the woman who was .the spokesperson for the group who appeared, - was very upset because she had not been informed that license application had been _withdrawn . so she could go to the Eastside • parade- with. her husband and children. He perceived that "when the neighbors who showed up to . argue against the beer - license had nothing else to fight about,. they started to complain about the hours of operation" . The Chairman told Pyr. Rhoades the minutes for- that meeting show substantial input against the hours of operation for this type of business in a residential area. and .this was a prime consideration of the Council when they directed entertainment-type businesses be made conditionally .permitted uses so .conditions could be placed on such operations which would protect the residents from early morning disturbances . Mr. Springfield told .the Commission -members that, during the few times he has visited the store which is being remodeled for Chick 's , he has been approached by 15 adults who wished him success in his business venture including a bank representative, a Legion Club member, and one of the men who had originally been against the business . The Chick ' s owner insisted- "seventy people don't represent the City" . When Mr. Rhoades reiterated that none of the first testimony was concerned with the hours of- operation , Mr. Childs told him the fact that this would be an all-night operation was not generally known or understood at that time and the. residents found out about that during the meeting. The Manager does not believe there is a valid basis for the belief of the Chick' s owners that the new ordinance is directed solely against them, but, rather, that the City believes any recrea- tional use should not- be run for 24 hours a day because of the expense • of additional police protection which would -be required and the need is therefore for tightening up the existing ordinances so the City won't have to go through this process ever again. -5- Mr. Zawislak perceives the Fun Center was the target of more of the negative comments from residents than were directed against Chick' s and • the residents were letting the Council know they wanted them to see to it that there are no similar operations permitted in the City in the future. He speculated the Fun Center would have a- tough time getting their licenses renewed because there are so many residents who oppose it, and said he. believed some _.of: .the basis for opposition to Chick 's was that the Fun. Center would .stay open all night, too. The Commission member quoted Mrs . Kuharski ' s .insistence that the residents were not prejudiced. against pool halls per se , but ratherthatthey believe they should be able "to decide what goes into their back yards . " Mr. Zawislak said .the original concerns about 3 . 2 beer being served where minors are customers had .been raised by Councilman Ranallo during the Council ' s July 6th meeting and the same residents who .are concerned about youngsters hanging around the .Fun Center are now concerned that they will "move over to Chick ' s" . Mr. Springfield said he believes his record for operating Chick 's in Coon..Rapids should .mean something and .he questioned whether any governing body can make rules which prevent kids from spending their money. He sees this as an assumption of the parents ' responsibilities by the City. Chairman Jones indicated disagreement with this statement, saying there is ample precedent set for government to restrict child- ren' s activities and he believes , "the City has the right to set conditions under which a business can operate in its jurisdiction" . Mr. Hagstrom indicated a cursory glance at the documents he had been given convinced him that none- of .the objections to Chick' s had been • based on specific facts but were rather of a very general nature and he believes the City .should base any decision on Chick' s track record in Coon Rapids and not on the type of operations -which were reported by Alderman Dziedzic in Minneapolis . . Mrs . Makowske told him this area is completely different. from Coon Rapids which probably has no inner city factor and most of the objections to Chick 's -had originated from the Minneapolis residents who live just across the street from the new establishment. When the Chairman reiterated the concern that a small community like St. . Anthony would probably have to increase its police force to accom- modate more nighttime patrols because of the .all-night operation , Mr. Rhoades ..told him that during the 1-1/2 years- he has been with Chick 's , the police have had to be called only twice, once because. a tire was slashed in the parking lot and another time when. a minor called them himself to complain that Chick-'-s was discriminating against him by not serving him beer. Mr. Kozlak told the Chick.'s owners that St. Anthony is a very con- servative little community and most -residents have lived here for at least twenty years. and have let City officials know over the years just what kind of a community they want. He said no one ,he has talked to has insisted the billiard hall should be permitted to operate 24 hours a day but rather, have agreed the ordinance should- be tightened up to protect the type of community they want. The - St: Anthony resident • believes Fagan is a good example .-of a community which wrote its ordinances in .anticipation of businesses which might be a problem in the future, after having had a bad experience with a drug paraphernalia operation. -6- The hearing was closed at . 8-: 37 , P.M. for Commission deliberations on the proposed ordinance changes . • Mr. Peterson said he believes ithas been made perfectly clear that St. Anthony is a community where people take an interest in what type . -of businesses are permitted to operate and agrees the Council has the right to .establish ordinances which would assure only the desirable businesses are permitted. Mr. Bjorklund suggested several. changes in .wording for the proposed amendments including that the definition of beverage stores be expanded to indicate .they are "primarily for the sale of beverages" to make a distinction between beverage shops and sale of beverages in super markets . Mr. Soth answered questions -concerning private clubs and all- night lockups of students at Apache. The Attorney told. the. Chairman .he does not believe it would be appro- priate to provide for variances for special cases such as all-night restaurants in the ordinance because variances are usually related directly to land use which is unique because of topography --or some other physical condition which would create a hardship if the ordinance were applied, and in this type of ordinance it might be very difficult to make_ a .distinction between one particular theatre and three others or for one pool hall as compared .to three others in the same area. He added that a special case could be handled by changing the ordinance itself rather than by variance. Mr. Hagstrom interjected that he believes "it would be a severe hardship for Chick 's if the ordinance is changed to prevent them from being -open from-. 1 :00 A.M. until • 4 :00 A.M. " . Mr. Soth said he realized the term "recreational" was probably not the best description for restaurants or some of the other categories in- cluded in the ordinance proposals but that was the best definition he could find for all the categories he.. had been directed to include because they were businesses where the public congregates . Mr. Zawislak reacted to the complaints about "regulating business" by observing that the Chick 's owners had to regulate their own business regarding curfews for minors . Chairman. Jones told Mr. Hagstrom the City is concerned that other businesses similar to his clients ' which would not be as well regulated as Chick's would-.open up with the City - having no control over the manner in which they are operated. Mr. Bjorklund changed the reference to sale of beverages to include the wording "for consumption. on the .premises" and he and Mr. Peterson indicated they would oppose setting up any exceptions for all-night restaurants because the same type of abuses and traffic disturbances could be anticipated for- these operations as any other which stays open all night. When the Chairman persisted in the desire that variances should be written into. the ordinance , Mr. Soth told him he foresees it would be very difficult to set out the conditions under which such a variance • could be granted.. He told airs . Makowske to include only national chains of restaurants would probably be considered as discriminatory. Mr. Childs said if, he reads the desires of the residents correctly , he doesn'-t believe they would welcomelan ..all=night restaurant in their neighborhoods either. Mr-. Bowerman recalled that a McDonalds had been -7- considered for the .City several times in the past. but when density of population,. space restrictions , etc. were considered, eventually located • outside the City. He noted he hasn ' t observed "any such restaurants beating the doors down lately" . Mr. Bjorklund' s suggestion that the wording= "thereby" be striken after "and" in the eighth line of Section 460.:OO . in the first ordinance was accepted. The motion .was .then made by .Mr.. Peterson and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund that the 1982 Ordinance which. would limit the hours of operations for certain businesses be referred to the Council for adoption with the suggested changes in wording but a vote deferred until after a recess in which the wording of the findings submitted by Mr. Peterson could be put in final form fo•r--adoption. The hearing was recessed at '9. :08 P.M. and. reconvened at 9 :25 P.M. at which time Mr. Zawislak announced that Mr. Peterson had found it necessary to leave .the hearing and had agreed that Mr. Zawislak 's name be substituted for his own as maker of the motion. The change was accepted, and Mr. .Bjorklund read the findings which had been developed during the xecess as follows : (1). There was ample written and verbal testimony by the public , the proponents , and the opponents to , support passage of the ordinance . (.2)_ No evidence was presented._to back up the assertion that business of the types which would be affected are "family oriented" , but • rather, evidence .was . presented that the .hours of greatest activity are the very hours that families seldom, or never, pursue joint activities since they are universally regarded as sleep hours and testimony from the public adequately demonstrated that St. Anthony is a "family oriented community" . St. . Anthony is a small community. with a small police department and may be adversely affected by the necessity to increase staff- ing if this ordinance is not adopted. (4) Businesses in St. Anthony generally. close at .conventional hours (_before 1:00 A.M. ) and noadversebusiness impact has been demonstrated .either generally or specifically within the City. (_5)_ There are studies which show increased crime , reduction in property values and other negative impacts resulting from the operation of all-hours establishments . in nearby communities . (_6).. Other municipalities .such .as Eagan have ordinances similar to this ordinance. (_7) As a general. .rule, . the businesses which are open to the public are under continuous. public scrutiny , and therefore, the public , in a sense , serves as their own police, and .react to potential offensive conduct. Before a vote .was taken, Mr. Bowerman indicated he found the ordinance is "too confining" . He . is concerned that imposing restrictions on 6 or 7 "recreational-type establishments," from among the 56. permitted uses under the Commercial zoning categories could be considered discriminatory 8- since he could see the same type of dangers to -the public morality , health hazards , etc. being possible from other categories of retailing • businesses listed, such as . delicatessans , variety, drug, and musical instrument - stores and. rental .businesses upon which these restrictions would not be imposed. He would not be comfortable with controlling only the economic aspects .of certain businesses which .are considered "recreational" and would be more comfortable if it were possible to write an.. ordinance curtailing all commercial retail activities between the hours of 1: 00 A.M.-and 6 :00 A.M. Mr-. Bjorklund indicated he did .not find this argument to be a valid one because .it is only the "recreational type" of businesses which have large concentrations of people which could be expected to cause trouble or annoyance for the community. PIr. Soth said some consideration.-,had been given to- opening up the classification to include all -retail businesses but it appeared it might be difficult to justify closing a bakery for- instance, between 1:00 .A.M. and -6 :00 A.M.., - becaus.e there is normally no -concentration of people in those stores during the late night hours . He said the list he had prepared could certainly be expanded to include any category such as delicatessens which seem to fit. When Mr. Bowerman .suggested that Don Leary- might put in listening booths and keep his record shop open all night, he was told such,-action., would probably put him into a. different category of business for which he would have .to come to the Council for approval. Mr,. - Bowerman said his prime concern was the scope .of the proposed ,ordinance and he believes a more. comprehensive ordinance should be written. Mr. Soth pointed out that the Eagan ordinance is very similar to the one he drafted. and Mr.. Childs said any comparison between St. Anthony and Edina or Bloomington could not be valid since both of those large communities have .more space where commercial .activities are concentrated. When the Chairman mentioned Pac Man machines in .the Tom Thumb and Super America stores , Mr. Soth told him the City would have control over any similar operation- in the City through its licensing procedures . He said. drive-in businesses were .not included in this ordinance because all -drive-ins are already considered conditionally permitted uses -and listed as such in the existing ordinance. Voting on the motion to recommend adoption including the findings : Aye : Zawislak, Bjorklund, Makowske and Jones . Nay: Bowerman. Motion carried. The following amendments were made to .the proposed ordinance which would .transfer. certain permitted uses from that designation in the existing ordinance and .make them conditionally permitted uses instead: • The listing of "beverage stores" under Section 1 was deleted altogether . -9- A new Section 2 was added to read: "Section 2 , Section. 9 , Subdivision 2 . Paragraph 9 , of the 1973. Code. of Zoning -Ordinances is amended to • read as follows : . 9 . Beverage Stores , primarily for the sale of beverages for consumption off premises . The original Section 2 was renumbered . Section. 3 and ' the following changes . in wording made: 8. Beverage Stores , .primarily.. for the sale of. beverages for consumption on premises . . 12 . Restaurants , drive-in restaurants , cafeterias , and- delicatessans . Motion by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by-Mrs . P-iakowske..to .refer the amended Ordinance 1982 to .the Council for approval, finding .that: (_1) There was ample written and verbal testimony by the public, the proponents , and the. opponents to support the passage of the ordinance. (2) The City will have greater control of these types of businesses whose primary purposes areto allow the consumption of their product or deliverance of a - service on the premises , thereby better controlling potentially adverse concentrations of people . • (3) St.. Anthony is a small community with a small police department and may be adversely affected .by the necessity to increase staff- ing if this ordinance is not adopted. (4) There are studies- which show increased crime, reduction in property values , and other .negative impacts resulting from recreational establishments in nearby communities . (5) Other municipalities such- .as Eagan have .ordinances similar to this ordinance . (6) As a general rule, the businesses which are open to the public are under continuous public scrutiny and., therefore , the public, in a sense, are their own .police, and react to potential- offens*ive = conduct. Motion carried unanimously. As he had indicated .in his August .24th cover letter, - Mr. Soth reiterated he believes he needs further direction from the Commission and the Council before he drafts ordinances which would .limit the number of beer and .amusement devices-licenses issued by. the City. He said he had done some research on the amusement devices licenses but not on the beer licenses . . .He was impelled -to point out there are some questions whether this type of ordinance could be .upheld in court but believes every law must make some kind of case for putting somelimits on and it could be that if the, ordinance doesn' t. affect existing businesses it might not be challenged. i` -10- He explained .the differences between St., Anthony 's situation and West St. Paul where the City is taxing amusement devices . When Mr. Zawislak • wondered whether . it might be best for. the City to issue all the licenses which were. requested but to charge fees large enough to make them unattractive ,. the Attorney told him- the general law is thatamount of * fee .which is charged must have direct. relationship with the municipality ' s costs for processing the application. The .Planning -Commission member suggested those costs .could co ver . the expenses of putting on extra police. Questions regarding who- would get the first license which was freed up if a .limit were placed .at thenumber. now existing in the City were explored. Mr. Bjorklund said he didn't want the City to overreact to the . residents pressure in this regard. He foresees within a few years there will be thousands of the games in homes all over the City and personallycan' t conceive how . a. single game could reduce the morality of any kid. He has the games in his own home and considers them an excellent learning tool.. He believes the City can already restrict these devices where they. become.. a health or safety hazard or promote loitering and vandalism- which would be a .detriment to the neighborhood.- Mr. Zawislak suggested limiting each ..game to a designated amount of space so too many of them. aren' t concentrated- in one room. Mr. Bowerman wondered if the limit on total numbers of games could be set at between 200 .or 250 , to provide -future protection for the City , since "nobody is sure. what type of. game is being developed" . The Manager suggested -that if the limits are raised too high, the existing • businesses would probably snatch up all. that are .available because the "market will . rise to the limit" . Mrs . Makowske sees "a whole lot of difference between having computer games in: the. home and having children- play- them out of the home" . She would not like to see .the licenses issued to be more than 100 . Four out of the five Commission members agreed an arcade should be defined as having more than six amusement devices since that number did not appear to be a problem and arcades .can be controlled by conditions set -for them because they are conditionally permitted uses . Mrs . Makowske wondered why Minneapolis- can regulate pool halls . Mr. Zawislak commented. that Chick 's. in: .Coon.-, Rapids is a well regulated operation but is so isolated any disturbance wou-1d .go unnoticed, unlike its location in St. Anthony. He told of his own problems when he ran the University Park bar andpool hall and said most of the problems are with. coin operated pool tables . He also believes "people who are hanging around at 2 :00 A.M. are not the type of persons who aren 't ever going to fight" . ' Mr. Childs: cautioned the Commission members that denying the licenses to the Fun Center when the licenses come up for- renewal would not be an easy thing unless the police department logs valid .calls for ordin- ance violations . or annoyances and.-.they were reminded by Mr. Kozlak of the difficulty .neighboring municipalities have had trying to close down operations which had become unbearable for the neighbors . .. -11- Mr. Childs confirmed .that there are seven beerlicenses- out in the City at the present. Por. Bowerman noted that because 3:.2 beer is not con- sidered an alcoholic beverage there are not. too..many regulations about its consumption. Mr. Jones would like to see beer and wine licenses granted only to those .businesses. where . serving of food is the main purpose. Mr. Soth .said the beer limitation1.could probably be handled in the existing ordinances .. . Mr. Kozlak. mentioned Minneapolis ' practice of putting a liquor- license "on the shelf." when a. place closes down. Mr. Bowerman left at 10 :59 P.M. When Mr. Kozlak .indicated he believed Councilman Ranallo had .indicated he would like to have the .beer licenses frozen until a ,.study is made , Mr. Soth told.'.him the , State Law specifically states this can be done only while .a comprehensive. plan is being developed by the municipality and this has been completed in St.. Anthony's case . Following . a discussion of* the _problems which can be expected if an attempt is made to ..write an ordinance which limits the serving of beer within a specified distance of residential developments , the consensus of .those . Commission members-who-remained was that 'the same type of ordinance. could be written for beer as is now written .for wine consumption with the existing bowling. alleys grandfathered in. Motion by airs . Makowske and seconded .by Mr. Bjorklund to adjourn the meeting- at 11:09 P.M. • Motion. carr.ied unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary •