Loading...
Minutes - Beverages Licensing - December 17, 2008 CITY OF BOULDER BEVERAGE LICENSING AUTHORITY ***MiNUTES*** WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2008, 1:00 P.M. BOULDER CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MUNICIPAL BUILDING - 2"a FLOOR 1777 BROADWAY, BOULDER, COLORADO NAME OF BOARD/COMMISSION: Beverage Licensing Authority (BLA) DATE OF MEETING: December 17, 2008 NAMEITELEPHONE OF PERSON PRF,PARINC SUMMARY: Mishawn J. Cook -Deputy City Clerk (303-441-3010) NAMES OF MEMBERS, STAFF, ANll INVITED GUESTS PRESENT: Board Members: Cam Marshall, David Cheval, Tim McMurray, and Lisa Spalding. Staff Present: Sandra Llanes, Assistant City Attorney, and Mishawn J. Cook, Licensing Clerk. QUASI-JUDICIAL MEETING OUTLINE OF AGENDA 1. Roll Call, Approval of Minutes from November '19, 2008, and Approval of Hearing Conductor Assignments. Roi] Call was taken. Four Authority members were present, with Steve Wallace being absent, thus there was a four member quorum.. Member Spalding provided Mishawn Cook with some changes to November 19`t' minutes which Ms. Cook stated that she would incorporate. Member Spalding moved, seconded by McMurray, to approve the BLA November 19, 2008 minutes as amended. Motion approved 4:0. Ms. Cook noted that agenda item l4 would likely need to be continued due to insufficient posting. Chair Marshall noted that in the absence of Member Wallace, his hearing conductor assignrents would revert to him as the BLA Chair. Chair Marshall then requested public comment on all hearing conductor assignments, but none was provided. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Spalding, to accept hearing conductor assignunents as listed on the agenda. Motion approved 4:0. The agenda item 14, Nitro Club matter was then allowed to proceed out ofdocket order. Chair Marshall was designated hearing conductor. Michael Cobb was sworn in, and testified that he was unable to confirm premise posting under oath far the required 10-day period. 12/17!0$ BLA Final Minutes Page 1 of 9 Mr. Cobb stated that the poster was apparently taken down after being posted on the designated day far tl~e required 10-day posting, but that he and his staff did not notice the removal of the poster immediately. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Spalding, to continue this new Tavern liquor license application to the BLA January 21, 2009 hearing. Motion approved 4:0. 2. Matters from the Boulder Police Department (BPD). Officer Heather Frey stated that the BPD was almost finished with the first quarter of the state enforcement grant, and that a Cops in Shops enforeeznent event was planned at Fox Theater. Officer Frey also reported that CU has been working on their portion of the grant. Officer Frcy also commented that, due to the BPD's annual shift change in January, Officer Frey's new commander will be Commander Kim Stewart and that Officer Frey, Mark Karpowich from RHG, and Molly Winter had a meeting with the new owners of The Goose. Chair Marshall inquired about input from the BPD on the Nitro Club application and Officer Frey replied that the BPD Chief would be attending the next hearing to provide comments. Chair Marshall also inquired whether the current grant provided funding for retail liquor store stakeouts. Officer Frey replied that it was not written into the grant, but that they are looking at doing those since they expected to receive funding from City Council next year. 3. Matters from the Responsible Hospitality Group (RHG). Mark Karpowich, Rl-IG Chair, was unable to attend the hearing. Mishawn Cook submitted an email from Mr. Karpowich as agenda item 3, exhibit 1. In the email, Mr. Karpowich stated that the RHG recommends approving the license renewal for The Uoosc. 4. Show Cause Hearing concerning a September 12, 200$ violation and whether the Hotel-Restaurant type liquor license held by Walnut Gardens Restaurant, Inc., d/b/a Casa Alvarez, 3161 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO, should be suspended or revoked. Chair Marshall was the assigned hearing conductor. Betty Cormaine, Licensee treasurer and registered manager, was sworn in and provided testimony about violation mitigation. Bob Keatley, BPD prosecutor, appeared on behalf of the BPD and he advised that a stipulation had been reached. Ms. Cormaine waived hearing procedures reading and she confirmed the stipulation to the facts. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Cheval, to accept the stipulation to the facts. Motion approved 4:0. No ex-parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Ms. Cormaine answered the Authority's questions concerning violation circumstances. Ms. Cormaine provided, in addition to evidence of training in the BLA. packet, copies of employee alcohol service policy which was accepted as agenda item 4, exhibit 1. Member McMurray moved, seconders by Cheval, to set the penalty at 1 suspension day served with 14 days held in abeyance. Motion approved 4:0. Ms. Cormaine requested to serve the 1 day on December 3 l .Member McMurray moved, seconded by Cheval, that the 1 suspension day should be served on December 31, 200$. Motion approved 4:0. 12/17/08 BLA rinal Minutes Page 2 of 9 5. Show Cause Hearing concerning a September 12, 2008 violation and whether the Hotel-Restaurant type liquor license held by Ras Kassas, Inc, d/b/a Ras Kansas Ethiopian Restaurant, 2111 30th Street, UTnit E, Boulder, CO, should be suspended or revoked. Member McMurray was designated hearing conductor. Bob Kcatley, BPD prosecutor, appeared on behalf of the BPD and he advised that a stipulation had been reached. David Waider, Esq. appeared as licensee's attorney. Mr. Walder waived hearing procedures reading on behalf of his client. Mr. Wader confirmed the stipulation to the facts. No ex- parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Marshall, to accept the stipulation to the facts. Motion approved 4:0. Tsehay Hailu, Licensee president and registered manager, was sworn in and provided testimony on mitigation and Ms. Hailu read a prepared statement. Chair Marshall noted proof of training included in the BLA's packet and the length of time that the licensee has been in business and held their liquor license without violations. Chair Marshall then moved, seconded by Cheval, to set the penalty at 1 suspension day served with 14 days held in abeyance. Motion approved 4:0. Ms. Hailu requested that the 1 suspension day be served on Sunday, January 11. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by Cheval, that the 1 suspension day shall be served on January 11, 2009. Motion approved 4:0. 6. Show Cause Hearing concerning a September 12, 2008 violation and whether the Hotel-Restaurant type liquor license held by Bodhicitta, Inc., d/b/a Golden Lotus, 1964 28`h Street, Boulder, CO, should be suspended or revoked. Member Spalding was designated hearing conductor. Bob Keatley, BPD prosecutor, appeared on behalf of the; BPD and he advised that a stipulation had been reached. Vicki Chen waived hearing procedures reading. No ex-pane communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by McMurray, to accept the stipulation to the facts. Motion approved 4:0. Vicki Chen, Licensee owner, and Robert Chen, Licensee assistant manager, were both sworn in and provided testimony about mitigation. Mr. Chen stated that the server that served the minor was part- time and is no longer working at the restaurant. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Marshall, to set the penalty at 3 suspension days served with I 1 days held in abeyance and that, to confirm their statement of employee training, the Licensee shall provide proof of training by February 11, 2009 or be placed on non-administrative renewal with the Licensing Clerk. Motion approved 4:U. Mr. Chen requested that the 3 suspension days be served from January 11 to 13. Chair Marshall moved that, seconded by Cheval, the 3 suspension days should be served from January 1 1, 2009 to 3anuary 13, 2009. Motion approved 4:0. 7. Show Cause Hearing concerning a September 12, ZU08 violation and whether the Hotel-Restaurant type liquor license held by Via 29, LLC, d/b/a The L, Laudisio, 1710 29th Street, Suite 1076, Boulder, CO, should be suspended or revoked. In Member Wallace's absence, Chair Marshall acted as hearing conductor. Bob Keat]ey, 12/17/OS BLA Final Minutes Page 3 of 9 BPD prosecutor, appeared on behalf of the BPD and he advised that a stipulation had been reached. Robert Dill, Esq. appeared as licensee's attorney and waived procedures reading. Antonio Laudisio, family member of Licensee's managing member, and Mark Kretz, Licensee's registered manager, were both sworn in and provided testimony on mitigation. No ex-pane convnunications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Member McMurray moved, secvnded by Cheval, to accept the stipulation to the facts. Motion approved 4:U. Mr. Dill noted that proof of training had been submitted. Member Spalding inquired about what occurred during the compliance check, referencing the BPD's affidavit. Officer Frey stated that an employee was very sarcastic to her and used inappropriate gestures, and that although the conduct was not illegal, she informed management to let them take care of the situation with the employee. Mr. Kretz replied that he immediately suspended the employee to research the matter and that Mr. Kretz later ternlinated the employee upon receipt of the applicable police report. Member Cheval then moved, seconded by .McMurray, to set the penalty at 3 suspension days served with 11 days held in abeyance. Motion approved 4:0. Mr. Dill asked if the Authority would accept a fine in lieu of suspension served. Chair Marshal responded that their standing policy is not to accept a fine in lieu, other than for retail liquor stores who are unable to conduct business during a suspension. Member Cheval then moved, seconded by McMurray, not to accept a fine in lieu of suspension. Motion approved 4:0. Messrs. Laudisio and Kretz requested that they serve the 3 suspension days from January 4-b. Member Mc.Vlurray moved, seconded by Cheval, that the 3 suspension days should be served from January 4, 2009 to January b, 2009. Motion approved 4:0. 8. Public Hearing and Continued Consideration to determine if there is good cause for a non-renewal of a September I0, 2008 Non-administrative License Renewal Application, and Corporate Shares Ownership Change and Registered Manager Change applications from Iguana B & R Inc., d/b/a The Goose, 1301 Broadway, Boulder, CO; Troy Cunningham, Proposed President, Worthy McCormick, Proposed Director and Registered Manager, Peter O'Brien, Proposed Treasurer, James Sonn, Proposed 14% Owner, Jason Machado, Proposed 14% Owner, and Two Other Corporate Share Owners each with under a 10% Interest, with a premise business mailing address for aHotel-Restaurant type Liquor license. Member Cheval was the designated hearing conductor. Peter O'Brien, Worthington McCormick, and Troy Cunningham, the three majority corporate shareholders of the licensee corporation, were all sworn in, each provided testimony, and confirmed under oath premise posting for the required 10-day period. Member Spalding stated that she was at The Goose on Halloween with Kcn Wilson, but that it would nut keep her from being impartial. No other ex-party communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Hearing procedures reading was waived. No third parties requested interested party status and no public comment was driven. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Chair Marshall, t.o approve the Corporate Ownership Change. Motion approved 4:0. Mr. O'Brien stated that all employees have been or will be trained through TIPS by Friday, December 20`h and that their lead dour staff and head of security have been trained and can 12117/08 BL~1 Fina( Minutes Page 4 of 9 now teach the rest of the door staff. Member Spalding asked if they planned to open early for spring lnaduation, all three responded by saying no. Chair Marshall moved to approve this hotel-restaurant liquor license renewal and to approve a registered manager change to Worthington McCormick as new manager. With Chair Marshall's consent, the motion was amended by Member McMurray, seconded by Cheval, to include placing the licensee on non-administrative renewal. Motion approved 3:1 with Spalding opposed. 9. Public Hearing and Consideration to determine if there is good cause for anon- renewal of an October 20, 20(18 License Renewal Application from 8`h Street Wine Library, LLC, d/b/a West End Wine Shop, 777 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO; Joanne Keys, Manager and Member, llavid Cohen, Manager, and Manuel Sanchez, Member, with a premise business mailing address for a Retail Liquor Store type liquor license. Chair Marshall was designated hearing conductor. Joanne Keys, Licensee's manager and member, was sworn: in, provided testimony on this late filing, and confirmed premise posting under oath far the required 10-day period. Hearing procedures were read to Ms. Keys. No ex-parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Ms. Keys submitted documents regarding the late filing and proof of training which was accepted as agenda item 9, exhibit 1. No third parties requested interested party status anal there was no public comment. Member McMurray moved; seconded by Cheval, to approve this Retail Liquor Store liquor license renewal application. Motion approved 4:0. 10. Public Hearing and Consideration to determine if there is good cause for anon- renewal of an October 29, 2008 License Renewal Application from Baja in the Rockies, LLC, d/b/a Wahoo's Fish Tacos, 2790 Pearl Street, Suite A, Boulder, CO; Fish Face, Inc., 100% LLC Owner, Michael Donnelly, LLC Manager, and Marcus Goodrich, Registered Manager, with a business mailing address of 1.517 Blake Street, Suite 1.00, Denver, CO 80202-5938 for aHotel-Restaurant type liquor license. Member McMurray was designated hearing conductor. Hearing procedure reading was waived. No ex-parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Lisa Anaya, from the corporate office, and Carol Shower, regional manager, were both sworn in, provided testimony on the renewal application, and confirmed premise posting under oath for the required 10-day period. Ms. Anaya stated that the reason for the delay in renewal filing was that it was a new responsibility for her and she just missed the mail in Kling date. Ms. Anaya submitted employee proof of training which was accepted as agenda item l 0, exhibit 1. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by Spalding, to approve this Hotel-Restaurant liquor license renewal. Motion approved 4:0. 11. Public Hearing and Consideration to determine if there is good cause for anon- renewal of an October 29, 2008 License Kenewal Application from Cheers Asian Cuisine Inc., d/b/a Cheers Asian Restaurant, 2850 Iris Avenue, Unit D, Bvulder, CO; Bhakta Gurung, Owner, with a premise business mailing address for aHotel- Restaurant type liquor license. Member Spalding was designated hearing conductor. Bhakta Gurung, Licensee owner and registered manager, was sworn in, provided testimony on this renewal, and confirmed 12/17/08 BLA Final Minutes Page 5 of 9 premise posting under oath for required 10-day period in this matter. Mr. Gurung waived the hearing procedures reading. No cx-parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by the Authority members. No third parties requested interested party status and there was no public comment. Mr. Gurung stated that the reason for the delay was that he is in the process of selling the business, but wants to properly renew the liquor license so that he might transfer it. Member Spalding asked if all servers had been h•ained and Mr. Gurung replied they had not been trained. Member Cheval moved, seconded by Marshall, to continue the hotel-restaurant liquor license renewal to the next scheduled hearing on January 21, 2009, but to allow the Licensing Clerk to administratively renew this license upon the receipt of proof of training from Mr. Gurung. Motion approved 4:0. 12. Public Hearing and Continued Consideration of a September 25, 2008 application from Colorado Brewing Company, LLC d/b/a Redfish New Orleans Brcwhouse, 2027 13th Street, Boulder, CO; Mitchell Arden, Partner and LLC Member, Jim Howser, Partner and Registered Manager, with a premise business mailing address for a Permanent Modification of a Brew Pub type liquor license. In Member Wallace's absence, Chair Marshall acted as hearing conductor. Jim Howser, LLC applicant manager and registered manager, was sworn in, provided testimony, and confirmed premise posting under oath for the required 10-day period. Mishawn Cook noted that the BLA has been provided new petition results which are marked agenda 12, exhibit 1. Mr. Howser waived hearing procedures reading. Member McMurray disclosed that he spoke with Mr. Howser at the Great American Beer Festival before establishment's purchase, but McMurray stated that would not hinder his ability to make an impartial decision. No other ex-parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Mr. Howser stated that, with regards to the previous petition, his employee was instructed to canvas the immediate area and that the employee went to the Pearl Street Mall to contact people walking in that area. Mr. Howser confirmed that the new submitted petition results were done door-to-door. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Cheval, to approve the permanent modification of a Brew Pub type liquor license. Motion approved 4:0. 13. Public Hearing and Continued Consideration of a September 29, 2008 application from Happy Noodle LLC d/b/a Happy Noodle House, 835 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO; David Query, LLC Managing Member, and James Lee, Registered Manager, with a business mailing address of 1 U0 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302 for a Permanent Modification of a lIotel-Restaurant type liquor license. Member Cheval was the designated hearing conductor. Mishawn Cook stated that the BLA had now received an email with attachments from Meghan Lawson, from the city's planning department; regarding planning's zoning review and approval which was marked agenda item 13, exhibit 1. No ex-parte communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. John Bachman, LLC Applicant's Operations Manager, was sworn in, provided testimony, and confirmed premise posting under oath for required 10-day period in this matter. No third parties requested interested party status and no public comment was given. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by McMurray, to approve this permanent modification of aHotel-Restaurant liquor license application. Motion approved 4:0. 12/17/08 BLA Final Minutes Page 6 of 9 14. Public Hearing and Continued Consideration of a September 29, 2008 application from N.C., LLC, d/b/a Nitro Club, 1124 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO; Michael Cobb, President, LLC Managing Member and Registered Manager, with a premise business mailing address for a new Tavern type liquor license. Under agenda item l ,the Authority moved that this item would be continued until January 21, 21)09. Officer Heather Frey provided the Authority with a list of calls for service fur the Bella's lvcation in the city of Longmont which was marked as agenda item '14, exhibit 1. 15. Public Hearing and Consideration of an October 31, 2008 application from High Hat, .LLC, d/b/a Round Midnight, 1005 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO; Tim Fitzgerald, LLC Managing Member, and Charles Wadsworth, LLC Managing 1vlember and Registered Manager, with a premise business mailing address for a Permanent Modif"~cation of a Tavern type liquor license. Member McMurray was designated hearing conductor. Tim Fitzgerald, LLC managing member, was swum in, provided testimony about this permanent modification, and confirmed under oath premise posting for the required 10-day period. Mr. Fitzgerald waived hearing procedures reading. Member Cheval disclosed that he knows Mr. Fitzgerald througk~ his job, but does not believe it wvuld cause a conflict. No other ex-pane communications or conflicts of interest were disclosed by Authority members. Mr. Fitzgerald stated that this is a change to the original modification. requested in 2006. Mr. Fitzgerald advised that they have scaled back from the original modification which was not completed, but that there are no changes to occupancy with this new modification. Member Spalding asked Officer Heather Frey if the BPD looked at this modification application as requested at the last hearing, and Officer Frey stated that she saw no particular issue with the proposed changes. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by Cheval, to approve this permanent modification of a Tavern liquor license. Motion approved 4:0. 16. Matters from the Licensing Clerk: Mishawn Cook stated that she would like the Authority to amend the BLA Rules of Procedure on license renewal deadlines, in that, if a deadline occurs on a weekend or city holiday that the deadline would then skip to the next city business day. Member McMurray moved, seconded by Cheval, to allow the Authority to accept filings on the next business day after a weekend or holiday deadline day. Sandra I,lanes advised that this motion by the Authority could be properly recorded as a BLA supplemental rule. Ms. Cook stated that she would draft such motion as a supplemental rule. A) Neighborhood Boundaries for BLA January 21, 2UU9 Hearin: i) Sunrise Liquor- Ne~~~ Retail Liquor Store- 901) 28`x' Street, Boulder, CO 80304 "I'he Authority discussed the following boundaries: Arapahoe Road on the North, Baseline Road on the South, 18`'' Street Extended vn the West, and Foothills Parkway on the East. Member Spalding inquired as to the measurement from CU. Ms. Cook stated it was S09 12/17/08 BLA Final vlinutes Page 7 of 9 feet. Ms. Cook also indicated that she sought input from city planning and the city surveyor to determine where the property line for University of Colorado actually starts to determine this measurement. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by Cheval, to set the Neighborhood boundaries as above listed for this application. Motion approved 4:0. ii) Elephant Hut- New Beer & Wine License- 2500 30`~ St., #101, Boulder, CO 80301 The Authority discussed the following boundaries: Glenwood Drive on the North, Canyon Boulevard on the South, Folsom Street on the West, and Foothills Parkway on the Fast. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by McMurray, to set the Neighborhood boundaries as above listed for this application. Motion approved 4:0. iii) The Mediterranean- Permanent Modification to Hotel-Restaurant License- 1002 Walnut St, #101, Boulder, CO 80302 The Authority discussed the following boundaries: Alpine Avenue on the North, Euclid Avenue on the South, City Limits on the West, and 20`h Street Extended on the East. Chair Marshall moved, seconded by McMurray, to set the Neighborhood boundaries as above listed for this application. Motion approved 4:0. B) information Items: i) December Special Events and Temporary Modifications for 2008. Ms. Cook noted that there are no special events in December, 2008 and the year of 2008 ended with 63 special events (7 withdrawn, but still in calculation), 7 temporary modifications and 3 wine festival applications completed. ii) BI,A Members emails on absence from December hearing. Ms. Cook stated that the Authority received, as agenda item 16, exhibit 1, an email from Member Cheval indicating his healing attendance at this December 17t~' hearing. 17. Matters from the Assistant City Attorney Ms. Llanes commented that when the Authority is in deliberations, they need to make it clear that they are in deliberations and that the public hearing portion of the hearing has closed. Ms. Llanes also asked that the Authority clearly state the reasons for their findings for the record and that she will email case law showing the importance of a local licensing authority stating the reason for findings on the hearing record. Ms. Llanes stated that if the Authority has questions or comments to speak to her directly. Ms. Cook offered to add the provided information to next month's BLA packet for public record. 18. Matters from the Chair and Members of the Authority A) Debriefing from this hearing No matters were discussed. 12/17/08 BLA Final Minutes Page 8 of 9 B) Other matters from the Chair and Members Member Spalding asked Ms. Cook for a print out of all liquor stores. Chair Marshall asked for clarification on deciding undue concentration, and Ms. Llanes replied that a decision would need to be made by the BLA based on the evidence and data provided to make a finding that it would result in or add to undue concentration of the same class of license and based on testimony in the record that there would be a need for additional law enforcement. Member Spalding asked that someone from the city's planning department come to a BLA hearing to discuss what information the BLA needs to make an application finding and Ms. Cook advised that she has scheduled a meeting with planning and city attorney's office to discuss better cooperation and a more efficient timeline for liquor license applications. ADJOURNMENT Chair Marshall moved, seconded by McMurray, to adjourn this hearing. Motion approved 3:1 with Cheval opposed, thus this hearing was adjourned at 4:25 p.m. TIME AND LOCATION OF ANY FUTURE MEETINGS, COMMITTEES OR SPECIAL HEARINGS 1:00 PM - 3r`' Wednesday of Every Month in City Council Chambers for year of 2009 Attested: Approved: - ~ Mishawn J. Cook, Deputy City Clerk Chair 12/17/0 BL.A Final Minutes Page 9 of 9