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HomeMy WebLinkAboutArticlesMoney drained from Boulder's liquor enfor~ement city will no longer haue full-time officer dedicated to enforcing compliance By Byan Morgan Camera SraffWrzrer A well of grant money that the Boulder PoLce Department uses to pay for e~ravigilant enforcement of liquor laws has nin dry, and city officials aren't sure when - or ff- irs gomg to come back Boulder PoLce C}uef Mazk Beckner satd that doesn't mean ~~ x~ ~~~~~~ ~I ~~ I~I~ ~,~h-.,~.,,,, 49377 22fi74 TO SUBSCRIBE: (303) 444-3444 or at www da~Iycamera com SILVIAPETTEM 10 STOCKS 2E TV LISTINGS 2D OBINARIES 11A 6C TO DO L[ST 211 - _ _- ~ ' - -' -- ~~~%~ - , ~ ~~ r ~ m~ ~.°c ,_ _-, =-_ INSIDE • ~quor Iicense applicahons fir loca4ons on Unrversdy Hill draw ob~echons PagetE officers will stop chasmg un- derage drinkers or citing bars that serve booze to people un- der the age of 21 "We aze able to stdl do some hquor code enforcement,' he said "We've always had offi- cers who've been assigned to do that as part of their duties' "Ihe grant money ran out in May, and the c~ty has to eater a `rest period' before rt can re- apply for the funds ~ What the city wodt have is what rt has had m the past a full-tune officer decLcated to en- forcing hquor laws And mak uig up for that addihonal officer wrthout more resources may not be possible, Beclmer said "We really don't have a way to make up the grant money that we lost for I~quor code en- forcement unless we cut out something else that we're domg, or read~ust monep from somewhere else," he sazd That has some neighhors who live m the Umversity FHll neighborhood worried Ken Wilson, a member of the Universdp H71 Neighbors As- P(ease see LIWOH on 5A IND~ CLASSIFIED & IOBS t-SF MOVIES COMICS 3D DEARABBY 2D EDTTORLILS 46 FLASH 40 GET OUT~ ~~~ Council must review all liquor licenses Lafayette liquor store owner's bid to limit licenses fails By Kate Larsen Camera Staff Wntrj IAFAYETTE - One local li- quor store owner says he thinks the city is overserved when it comes to booze. 1lvchael Poe, owner of Me- nd~an ~Pme and Spuits on Ar- apahoe Road, has fled a pefr tion with the city of Iafayette aslong officials to limit the number of hquor licenses in town and require training for liquor store employees. "I'd hate to see Lafayette or Boulder have tons of Lffie & quor stores on every comer," said Poe, who collected 46 sig- nat~ues of residents also favor ing hmiting liquor Lcenses °I believe that the qualitp of life in neighborhoods here could be affected." City's attomey Jim tiPmd- holz, however, said state law prohibits cities from creating such a blanket ordmauce, ef- fechvely negabng Poe's peti- tion Under Coloiado law, each h- quor license appLcahon must be reviewed indrvidually by the loca] hcensing board, Wmdholz said "Certain things aze state- wide issues, under the esclu- sroe junsdichon of the shte,° Please see PEfITION on SA Title shot Two I,ongmont girls take aim at winning the state skeet title this weekend. GET OUT! • P~GE 6C =' ~- Toda~s ~- Wea,ther FOpECAST Breezywtthsun and some douds IIigL 76 ~ Low 44 Details on 6C v ~ n J v a Yt v u a ~~`!~yQ~.~ ~~~' Q,/9 ; Liquor enf orcement well runs dr~ for Boulder Cont~nued from IA sociation, said zealous Lquor- law enforcement tends to keep bar owners who m~ght be tempted to serve alcohol to mi- nore on their toes If the police reduce their efforls to make sure alcohol doesn't gel served to mmors, he said, those estabhsl~ments may take advantage. "Any slacking off of that m~ght he a stgn to some of them thal anythmg goes agam," he sa~d The ctty ts also slipping m the relalionship it has devel- oped wrih local bar owners who want to do theu~ best to hehave well, said Beth Smith, the owner of I.a Iguana restau- rant and chairwoman of Che Responsible Hospi4liLy Group Two c~ty employees who previously worked w~th the neighborhood have smce moved on. Officer Janet Agutrre was promoted, and former Assistant City Clerk Sonya Oster left the city, Smdh satd. "4Ve have felt in the past very connected to the city and to ciry staff," she said "Iasmg those two people and those two posiGons is really tragic " &ut Snuth said she thuilcs the ciry will get back on track "I thtnk we'll get it back, and we'll be happy when we get it," she said "I thmk this has ~ust been a lapse." Contact StaJjWnter Ryan Morgan ¢t morganrC~7da:lycames¢ com or (303) 473-I333 Petition to limit liquor licenses dies CnntinuedJrom 1A he satd. When tt comes to regulating the number of liqaor licenses, 'W'indho~ said "it matters not that we're a home rule city " One resideut d~d not sign the peti6on, instead wnt~ng "all about free enterprise" in the comment secY~on Poe said he is aware that it may appear to some that he would prefer fewer competi- tars m town But, he said, °Pm all for free enterpnse " 'I'here are seven hquor stores ~n Lafayette. Four are located on or near U S 287. City Council member Kerry Bensman said the number of liquor stores in lown is not worsemng the qualiry of l~fe "You have (U S ) 2&7 right there, so you not oniy have la- fayette tr~c you have a tr~ mendous amount of non-iesi- dent lraf&c," Bensman said State law allows local I~quor licensmg authorities to consid- er whether a new license would result m"an undue con- centrahon of the same class of license " "What is the definiGon of 'undo concentration'? That's a pretiy general term," Bensman sa~d Contaet Camera Staff Wntes Kate Laasen at (303) 473-I361 or larsenkt~dailyramera com. ~ . ~ . , ~~~~N~~~~~~/IM~9P~R~~~4~~~~~R~~~i1-~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : 10368.44 ~ ~~~ 1990.61 ; THITRSDAY, .NNE 10, 2004 DAII,Y Ct~N~RA SECTION E ~ Alcohol f uelin dis utes on Hill g p ByAliaaWallace ~quor license applications draw objections °~ht with conditions that the Came,a Bunners wnrrr exterior seahng would not be ---' - T•--- -'--- Alcohol has resurfaced as the hot button issue of Univer- srty H~1, with neighbors and business owners butting heads recently over liquor licenses. The applications are a matter of business for the H~ll Alli- ance, while the University Hill Neighbors Association is con cemed about the impacts of ia~ creased alcohol avalability. `4VhaYs happened is that (both groups) have been ba sically airing their dir[y laundry in front of the hquor authority, wluch is not a place for that,' said Beth Smith, president of the Hill Alliance. outdoor seating. In hopes of working out their differences, members of UFINA and the Hill Alliance are plan- DIIIg to meet from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday at Grace Lutheran Church, 1001 13th St During the meeting, wluch will be me- diated by Kon Damas, the ciry of Boulde~'s community medi~ tion coordinator, the Hill Asso- ciation said it intends to dis cuss pazking and use review procedures, while UHNA sazd it plans to bring up the issues of liquor, baz closing times and Ken Wilson, a UHNA execu- tive committee member, said a lot of the proUlems on Universi- ty Hill relate to the greponder- ance of alcohol ouflets. He said e%tended hours for outdoor seating on the Hill could con- h9bute to problems late at night `Now from 11 unhl 2, iYs like party central," Wilson said. "You have people smolflng and dnnlflng and carrymg on It draws crowds outdoors. IYs be- coming Iike Bourbon Street' He said UHNA was con- cemed about three recent ap plications - two restaurant ap~ plications for extended hours and a reloca6on fiquor license apphcation for the Hill Iaquor Store - because they have the potential to increase the preva- lence of akohol on the HIll ~a V3a wrthdrew the estend- ed hours application last year And on Tuesday,the city Plan- ning Boazd approved the appli cation from Hapa Sushi Grill and Sake Baz to extend its hours of operahon unt~ mid- ~ Y..,. .. Ya Y.~..~ to appeal that decision on July 1, said Meaghan Dawes, its vice president Last month, Zane Blackmer, a properry owner on the Hill, said he wanted to move the li quor store from Tulagi's up stairs to the Flatirons Theater to fiuther a redevelopment of the night club. The liquor li- cense hearing for the Hill Ii- quor Store is on the June 16 Ii- quor Board agenda Please see ALCOHOL o-n 4E Aicohol problems on Universit~ Hill Contanued from IE Wllson said the move sends a wrong stgnal "We don't thmk ~t's appro- pnate to have it on a premier corner of the Hill busmess dts- tnct;' he sa~d "We're also concerned about the add~lion of a large night club sernng even more alcohol " Smith said the lateat moves wmc~de with the "Hill ~sion" redevelopment plan, which was based on a 2001 market- based study th21 satd the H~ll busmess distnct would benefit from drverse reta~l, entertazn- ment venues, quality restau• rants and Uusmess concepts that appeal to the common m- terest and under-21 crowd She sazd if the groups con- tanue to argue, that redevelop ment plan will be negahvely affected and the area might not be able to recruit qual~ty businesses "I think the implementatron of the Hill Vision plan is con- ttngent on whether or not we find some common ground," she said Contact C¢mera Business WriterA&cfa Wallace at (303) 473-Z332 or wallaceaC~d¢ilycamera com Lisa Pemendez tests out the Internet cafe at Commercial Feder New technolog~ ContinuedJrom IE Kinnett sa~d, ~s the new count- mg machine tellers use Rather there hid v~u don't 1[noW 4han 6amdu h.. rn.mi nnf ' ~ Pd~E TWO Busin~~s vs. nei bors: -~ Tension mounts on the Hill ; eyranwuco~n~euy Cninndo Uaity Smff ~ Tlie H~ll busmess dis[rict l~as been ho[ly debated between ~' Hill business owneis and some ~ Univers~ty H711 res~dents for years, but the most recent scuf- fles may completely change the face of the drverse neighbor- hood The Aill Alllance busmess group and Umversity Hill Ne~ghbors Assoc~atlon (UHNA) have consistendy disagreed on issues rangmg from liquor hcenses to noise to outdoor seatmg After several meetings, ordinances and battles before city government boards, litde has been worked out between ' the two groups. "We haue some diderences of opmion we want to Iron out m terms of hquor licenses, bar close and outdoor seahng," sald Ken Wilson, spokesperson for the UFINA. "We feel that there are issues that need to be addressed by restaurant and bar owners " That's putting it politely "There's not a lo[ of com- munication between the IIilI organ~~ahons;' said Meaghan Dawes, who owns Hapa sush~ restaurant on the Hlll and member of die Hill Alliance "We're more ttian willlng to s~t down and talk about posslble soluUons ° UfIIVA has made it difficnlt for buslnesses, espec~al(y small businesses, to get started on the Hill, according to many alllance members. "The fact that the c~ty hstens to neighbors more than busi- nesses is a shame; ' sald Dawes "Some Smuller busuiesses sim- ply can't affocd to put up a fight " The Hlll AWance and UIINA are scheduled to hold a publlc meehng th~s Sunday at a neu[ral terrltory - Grace Lu[heran Church on the Hill-to diswss varlous solutlons and strateg~es to address issues in their ~lelgh- borhood For mstance, pado seatuig at the newly opened Hapa on the Hill sushl restaurant sent 6oth fachons clamoring before the Boulder Counry Planning Board Wlth Increased h}pe about CU students drlnkmg on the H~ll, what might haue been a falrly painless process mn~ed lnto a much more mvolved issue because it has become hed m[o drmlung on the Hill, according to Dawes "I thuik that we're gemng heat for (CU s[udents) drmlc- mg, wluch isdt relevant to our paflo's approv~l," she s~id The process of ge[hng a paho in fron[ of Hapa was tled mto a use revlew that requ~res pahos be closed by 11 p m °IPs unreallsflc m operate anthoutUeing able to have peo- ple sit outslde after I1 p m," sa~d Dawes. Bat many loca7 residents see It differendy. "We'd like to see a real restaurant wlth whrte table- cloths that closes after dinner hours," said Wllson. °Wtiat we [See HIIJ., Page 7] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ CU AND BOULDER HILL: Factions face off [HILL, from page 2 ~ don't want ~s another place that turns into a bar later in the evenmg " . [Ie sa~d some neigfibors are afi~aid to the Hill busmess dietr~ct at ntght because of a perce~ved "alcohol atmos- phere," addmg that he belleves [he distMct needs cleamng up "We are concerned that the Hill Aiitance is a~~ organizahon of Uar owners," Wilson added. He added that the Hill needs better parkmg, more retall spaces, and a grocery store - all items mendoned m a study conducted In 2001 for the University Hili General Improvement Dlstr~ct (UHGID), the Baulder City Council-appolnced boazd des- lgnated to manage usues in the nelgh6orhood The Hill Alllance m Its meettng Wednesday adopted the shtdy as Its "guiding prin- c~ple" ro make decisions for the busmess distrlct Speaking of iIHGID, both members of the ELII Alllance and UHNA are scrambling to fill a vacant posdion on the advlsory boazd w~di [heir own representative Applicants for the seat mus[ ei[her be a bus~- ness owner or property owner to be ehgi6le for the seat "The CJIIGID seat is tntal," sa~d Beth Siruth, Iidl Alllance chair and owner of I.a Iguana on tlie Ilitl, at an Alliance meeC- mg Wednesday Blll Curtls of UHGID expressed his concern at thc meedng that another poytlon for a cidzen-at-large represen- tattve might he available m the coirung months "It wlll be tailored to the people we are talking about (UHNA);' he said , CurUs added that Hill AWance members and other Hill residents would have to apply to fill the poslhon "lf we want to keep UHGID moving and not become an arm of spe- cial interests " Wilson only said tha[ UHNA is "looking lnto" the vacant seat But Hlll Alliance member I{aren Abrams, who represents Illegal Pete's, said at Wednesday's meeting that UHNA spent 15 mmutes dis- cussing who it m~ght nommate for the positlon at i~s meeting last week "More power to them (LIHNA) for Ueing super organ- izeJ," sa~d Dawes. "They are a shong vmce on the Hlll and ciry polihcs m generaL" "We work wi[h tlte H~II Alliance to make [the Hill~ bet- ter for evetybody," sud Wilson Campus Psdltor Meagan Baldnk contr2buted to th~s report ~R~a~a~~~~~ ' - /nl Il {N /1 f/~ NV17101/1 1 °