HomeMy WebLinkAboutordinance.council.008-94
ie,;
%
~
'-'....
I"
.1
%~<-
~.-
I.
~,
__I
ORDINANCE NO. 'is
(Series of 1994)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AMENDING SECTION 4-1
AND 4-4 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN RELATING TO
THE COMPOSITION, ORGANIZATION, POWER AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE
ASPEN LIQUOR LICENSING AUTHORITY; SETTING A DURATIONAL LIMIT ON
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS; AMENDING SECTIONS 4-21
AND 2-39 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE TO MOVE THE APPLICATION FEES
SECTION FROM CHAPTER 4 TO CHAPT~R 2 OF THE CODE; AND, TO ADD
SECTION 4-28 TO THE CODE TO REQUIRE LICENSEES TO REPORT ALL
DISTURBANCES ON LICENSED PREMISES TO THE ASPEN POLICE DEPARTMENT
WHEREAS, recommendations have been made to the Aspen City
Council that it consider the restructuring of the membership of
the Aspen Liquor Licensing Authority; and
WHEREAS, a work session with interested members of the
public has heretofore been held by the City Council and the
Council has determined, subsequent to said work session, that it
would be in the best interests of the citizens of the City of
Aspen to implement the proposed modifications to the Aspen Liquor
Licensing Authority for a two-year trial period; and
WHEREAS, the city Council desires to place all sections of
the Municipal Code relating to fees within Chapter 2 of the Code;
and
WHEREAS, the city Council desires to require all licensees
to report all illegal activity and disturbances which take place
on licensed premises to the Aspen Police Department.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO:
"e.
~
~
@.-.,'
~
'-'
\
~
section 1
That section 4-1 of the Municipal Code of the city of Aspen
be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4-1. Legislative Declaration.
The city council hereby declares that the purpose of this
Chapter is to protect the public health, safety and welfare
by requiring all persons desiring to sell or offer for sale
any liquor or 3.2 beer to be licensed by the city. The City
council intends that the city issue local licenses for sale
of such beverages, as authorized by state law, and that the
city's licensing requirements be consistent with those for
state licenses under state law. The City council desires to
promote responsibility in the consumption of malt, vinous,
and spirituous liquors by its citizens and guests. The city
council's mission for the separate local liquor licensing
authority is to ensure (a) that the needs of the community
for licensed premises are measured by free market economic
forces and not arbitrary numerical limitations .on new li-
censes; (b) that the privacy rights of licensees and appli-
cants for liquor licenses are fairly balanced against the
authority's investigatory responsibilities; and, (c) that
educational efforts be implemented before enforcement activ-
ity is undertaken whenever educational efforts are deemed
appropriate and necessary. The city council desires that
the separate liquor licensing authority carry out its mis-
sion in as streamlined a fashion as possible and that it
seek to avoid the creation of new and burdensome paperwork
for either the City or its citizens.
section 2
That section 4-4 of the Municipal Code of the City of ASPen
be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4-4. Aspen Liquor Licensinq Authority.
(a) Members: Appointment: Term: Compensation: Vacancies.
(i)
The City of Aspen Liquor Licensing Authority shall
consist of five (5) members who are residents of
the city of Aspen and appointed by the city Coun-
cil to serve without compensation.
2
e:
"(
~~-
(ii) Appointments by the city Council shall be for a
two (2) year term commencing on the first day of
January and expiring on the thirty-first day of
December at the completion of the member's term.
Initial appointments shall be made as soon as
practical and shall specify the term of office of
each individual in order to achieve overlapping
tenure.
(iii) No person shall serve or continue to serve as a
member of the Aspen Liquor Licensing Authority for
more than two consecutive terms. Further, no
person shall serve or continue to serve as a mem-
ber of the Authority if that person or any member
of his immediate family shall or may hereafter
obtain any financial interest in the operation of
any business issued a license relating to the sale
or dispensation of fermented malt beverages or
alcoholic beverages pursuant to Articles 46 or 47
of Title 12, Colorado Revised statutes, as amend-
ed.
A,,_',
~
II'
"'"
(iv) Vacancies created by the death, resignation or
disqualification of a member of the Authority
shall be filled by appointment of the City Council
and such appointments shall be for the remainder
of the unexpired term.
(v) All members of the Authority shall be subject to
removal by the city Council.
(b) Functions.
(i) The Authority shall have the duty and authority to
grant or refuse licenses for the possession, sale,
and offering for sale of malt, special malt, vi-
nous or spirituous liquors and fermented malt
beverages as provided by law, to conduct investi-
gations as are required by law and to levy penal-
ties against licensees in the manner provided by
law.
(ii) The Authority shall have all the powers of the
local licensing authority as set forth in C.R.S.
Title 12, Articles 46, 47 and 48.
(iii) The Authority shall have the power to promulgate
rules and regulations concerning the procedures
e
3
f_
II
'q<
for hearings before it and the presentation of
evidence at hearings.
(iv) The Authority shall have the power to require any
applicant for a license to furnish any relevant
information required by the Authority.
(v) The Authority shall have the power to administer
oaths and issue subpoenas to require the presence
of persons and the production of papers, books and
records necessary to the determination of any
hearing which the Authority is authorized to con-
duct. It shall constitute a violation of this
Code for any person to fail to comply with any
subpoena issued by the Authority in the proper
conduct of its hearing.
(vi) The Authority shall have the power to perform all
other acts or duties required to carry out the
purposes of the state and city liquor and ferment-
ed malt beverage licensing laws.
1e'..
~
~~-
"<
(vii) The Authority shall have the power to perform all
other responsibilities that the Council may dele-
gate to it and to delegate as many of its func-
tions as it deems appropriate to the City Clerk.
(c) Orqanization: Bvlaws.
(i)
The Authority shall elect annually from its mem-
bership a chairperson and such other officers as
may be required. Bylaws may be adopted by the
Authority, which bylaws shall not be inconsistent
with the Charter and the Code.
(ii)
A quorum shall consist of a majority of the mem-
bers of the Authority, and a decision of the ma-
jority of those present constituting a quorum
shall control.
(iii)
On or before January 31 of each year, the Authori-
ty shall file a report with the City Clerk setting
forth the number of applications for license acted
upon, the number of licenses granted and the num-
ber denied and any other actions taken by the
Authority during the past year.
'.'.'-'
~
II
""",
4
~"-'"
\\..
"",
(d) Secretary.
The City Clerk shall serve as the secretary of the
Authority, but shall not be entitled to vote on any
matters coming before the Authority. The city Clerk
shall, as official secretary of the Authority, desig-
nate a person to provide necessary notice of meetings
to members and shall also provide secretarial and
reporting services for the Authority. The secretary
shall prepare and keep minutes of the meetings of the
Authority. The records of such meetings, if any, shall
be submitted monthly to the City Council and shall
become part of the permanent records of the city to be
maintained by the City Clerk. The secretary shall
perform such other duties delegated t:o her by the
Authority or assigned by the Code.
(e) Leqal Advisor: Appeals.
tA..
iil_
(i) The city Attorney shall be the legal advisor to
the Authority and shall represent the Authority
and the City in all proceedings before the Author-
ity and in all courts where any decision of the
Authority is appealed. The City Attorney may
employ special counsel when the City Attorney
determines that he cannot ethically perform the
functions of prosecuting a complaint against a
licensee before the Authority and simultaneously
representing the Authority.
(ii) All appeals from the Authority shall be directly
to the District Court except appeals from the
denial of new licenses and the transfer of a li-
cense which shall be to the City Council of the
City of Aspen which shall conduct a hearing de
novo. Appeals from the City Council shall be
directly to the District Court.
(f)
Aqqravatinq and mitiqatinq factors considered at show
cause hearinqs.
ie.'..
\\.
"\..
In all cases where a violation of the applicable state
or local laws is found at a show cause hearing, the
Authority shall consider evidence and statements in
mitigation and in aggravation of the violation proper
to determine the appropriate penalty. Such evidence
and statements may relate to and include, but not be
limited to, the following factors:
5
-.'.'..'.
~
1) Seriousness of the violation;
2) Corrective action taken by the licensee after the
violation;
3) Prior violations at the licensed premises by the
licensee or the licensee's employees and the ef-
fectiveness of prior corrective action;
4) Prior violations at the licensed premises by a
prior licensee or the prior licensee's employees,
and the sanctions imposed for such violations, if
the current licensee or any of the current licen-
see's owners, partners, shareholder, directors,
officers, or managers held an ownership interest
of five (5) percent or more in the entity holding
such prior license.
5) Whether the violation is part of a repeated course
of conduct or is an isolated occurrence;
6) Likelihood of recurrence;
'.,...
t
~
All circumstances surrounding the violation;
7)
8)
Willfulness of the violation;
9) Length of time the license has been held by the
licensee;
10) Previous sanctions imposed against the licensee;
and
11) Other factors making the situation with respect to
the licensee or the licensed premises unique.
(g) optional procedures for the payment of fine in lieu of
havinq retail license suspended.
(i)
(a) Whenever a decision of the Authority suspend-
ing a retail license for fourteen days or
less becomes final, whether by failure of the
retail licensee to appeal the decision or by
exhaustion of all appeals and judicial re-
view, the retail licensee may, before the
operative date of the suspension, petition
for permission to pay a fine in lieu of hav-
ing his retail license suspended for all or
part of the suspension period. Upon the re-
e
6
~e'..
\
"
ceipt of the petition, the Authority may, in
its sole discretion, stay the proposed sus-
pension and cause any investigation to be
made which it deems desirable and may, in its
sole discretion, grant the petition if it is
satisfied:
(I) That the public welfare and morals would
not be impaired by permitting the retail
licensee to operate during the period
set for the suspension and that the
payment of the fine will achieve the
desired disciplinary purposes;
(II) That the books and records of the retail
licensee are kept in such a manner that
the loss of sales of alcoholic beverages
which the retail licensee would have
suffered had the suspension gone into
effect can be determined with reasonable
accuracy therefor; and
e'
~ .
~
,
(III) That the retail licensee has not had his
license suspended or revoked, nor had
any suspension stayed by payment of a
fine, during the two years immediately
preceding the date of the motion or
complaint which has resulted in a final
decision to suspend the retail license.
(b) The fine accepted shall be the equivalent to twen-
ty percent of the retail licensee's estimated
gross revenues from sales of alcoholic beverages
during the period of the proposed suspension;
except that the fine shall be not less than two
hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dol-
lars.
(c) Payment of any fine pursuant to the provisions of
this subsection (i) shall be in the form of cash
or in the form of a certified check or cashier's
check made payable to the Authority.
e
(ii) Upon payment of the fine pursuant to subsection (i) of
this section, the Authority shall enter its further
order permanently staying the imposition of the suspen-
sion. The Authority shall cause such moneys to be paid
into the general fund of the city of Aspen.
7
A_
lil..
\S_.
-'<
".'-.'.
t,y
\"
e
- .......
(iii) In connection with any petition pursuant to subsection
(i) of this section, the Authority is limited to the
granting of such stays as are necessary for it to
complete its investigation and make its findings and,
if it makes such findings, to the granting of an order
permanently staying the imposition of the entire sus-
pension or that portion of the suspension not otherwise
conditionally stayed.
section 3
That section 4-21 of the Municipal Code of the city of Aspen
is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4-21. License application fee.
Each application for a license filed with the City Clerk
shall be accompanied by an application fee in an amount
equal to that set forth at section 2-39 of this Code.
section 4
That the Municipal Code of the city of Aspen, Colorado, is
hereby amended by adding section 2-39 which section shall read as
follows:
Sec. 2-39. Liquor License Application Fees.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
For a 3.2 percent beer permit, ten dollars ($10.00);
For a special event permit, twenty-five dollars
($25.00) ;
For a new license, three hundred fifty dollars
($350.00);
For a transfer of location or membership, one hundred
fifty dollars ($150.00);
For a renewal of license, fifty dollars ($50.00);
For an optional premises license, fifty dollars
($50.00).
8
-
~
section 5
That the Municipal Code of the city of Aspen, Colorado, is
hereby amended by adding section 4-28.1 which section shall read
as follows:
Sec. 4-28.1 Report of Disturbances.
All licensees shall immediately report to the Aspen Police
Department any unlawful or disorderly act, conduct or
disturbance committed on the licensed premises. Repeated
failure to comply with the requirements of this section
shall constitute prima facie evidence that the licensee has
failed to conduct the licensed premises in a decent, orderly
and respectful manner as required by Regulation 47-105.1 of
the Colorado Liquor Code, section 12-47-105, C.R.S.
section 6
That section 1 of this Ordinance and the amendments to
e section 4-4 of the Aspen Municipal Code as set forth hereinabove
shall continue in effect through December 31, 1996, unless the
City Council shall adopt an ordinance either extending the
effective date hereof or makes the amendments permanent. In the
event that the city Council fails to adopt said ordinance,
section 4-4 of the Aspen Municipal Code shall read on January 1,
1997, as it did prior to the adoption of this ordinance without
further action by the City Council.
section 7
This ordinance shall not have any effect on existing litiga-
tion and shall not operate as an abatement of any action or
proceeding now pending under or by virtue of the ordinances
e'"
I
\
,
9
~
,~.
..
h....
\t".
e
,
11..
"l,
repealed or amended as herein provided, and the same shall be
construed and concluded under such prior ordinances.
section 8
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or
portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or
unconstitutional in a court of competent jurisdiction, such
portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision and shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions thereof.
section 9
A public hearing
/jJ1aA~
~
on the ordinance shall be held on the
day of
, 1994, in the city council
Chambers, Aspen City Hall, Aspen, Colorado.
INTRODUCED, READ AND ORDERED PUBLISHED
as provided by law
/-'/ day of
by
the City Council
?l1Z~
of the city of Aspen on the
, 1994.
~~IY~
S. Bennett, Mayor
John
ATTEST:
FINALLY adopted,
7htv.-CA--
passed and approved this ~
day of
, 1994.
~ >. g~
John S. Bennett, Mayor
10
-
Ill.
i%...
't\,__
-"'.'..
1\'
'\
"<.
ATTEST:
jw218.1
n