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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20181127 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 4:00 PM I. Council meeting with Local Licensing Authority CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 27, 2018 4:00 PM, City Council Chambers MEETING AGENDA Council meeting with Local Licensing Authority P1 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Linda Manning, City Clerk DATE OF MEMO: November 20, 2018 MEETING DATE: November 27, 2018 RE: Council meeting with Local Licensing Authority SUMMARY: As part of City Council Goal #9, Council is meeting with all Boards and Commissions. This will be Council’s first meeting with the Local Licensing Authority to date. BACKGROUND: The Local Licensing Authority (LLA) was initially created as the Liquor Licensing Authority. The first mention that Staff can find of it is in 1974. However, the code indicates it was formed in 1971 when the majority of the Municipal Code was created after adoption of the Charter. Today, The LLA is comprised of 5 regular members and 1 alternate member. The Authority meets on the first Tuesday of each month and hears applications for new liquor and marijuana licenses as well as transfer of ownership and change of location applications. The Authority also hears matters related to various types of license violations which, thankfully, are few and far between. Currently, there are 93 liquor licenses in the city and 11 marijuana licenses. 8 retail and 3 medical in 8 physical locations (only 7 are open, 1 was just approved this month). DISCUSSION: Topics that the Authority would like to discuss with Council include the requirement of a TIPS like training for marijuana service workers like we have for liquor. Currently, there is a requirement in the code that 75% of staff serving alcohol attend an in person alcohol awareness training every three years. The Valley Marijuana Council has been working on a Responsible Vendor training for the past couple years and are now ready to roll out the program. Staff would like to make the same mandatory requirement for any retail or medical marijuana store license. The recommendation would be any owner, manager or 75% of budtenders need to complete the training within 30 days of receiving approval of the license from the Authority. P2 I. As mentioned above, the alcohol awareness training must be completed every three years, in person by at least 75% of staff serving alcohol. These requirements were last modified in 1993 and included Tipsy Taxi training as part of the certification. While there are multiple people certified to teach the alcohol awareness course there is only one person who teaches the Tipsy Taxi piece, Ellen Anderson. With 93 liquor licenses and hundreds of employees it is only natural that Ellen is not getting to everyone. One alternative that the Authority came up with at the last meeting is for the city to create a brief Tipsy Taxi training video that the various training providers can show or even be available on the city’s website to fill this small gap. Another item the Authority would like to discuss with Council is what comprises “needs of the neighborhood”. This comes up when granting a new liquor license or changing location of an existing one. Currently, the applicant will gather 30 or so signatures on a petition stating the signor supports the application. When marijuana was approved, Council stated their position was the market will dictate need. The topic of marijuana clubs is another item that is frequently brought up by applicants and the Valley Marijuana Council. This year the City of Denver started issuing permits for Designated Consumption Areas. These are designated “areas” where one must be over 21 to enter, there can be no advertising for the business, there are strict distance limitations from schools and city owned facilities, compliance with the Clean Indoor Air Act as well as regulations as to what must happen with the waste that is produced. The applicant must obtain support from an eligible neighborhood association in order to qualify for the permit. Denver does not consider this type of permit a private club nor do they consider it consuming in public since the applicant has support from the neighborhood. The LLA is open to discussing any other topics with City Council. P3 I.