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k" REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Date: 04/25/11 Item No.: 11 . a City Manager Approval Item Description: Public Hearing to Consider Amending City Code Chapter 302 to Allow for a Brewery and Off-Sale Retailing Liquor License 2 At the March 2 81 2011 City Council meeting, the Council received a formal request from Pour Decisions 3 Brewing Company, LLC; a prospective business which desires to set up a small production brewery that 4, distributes products to retail locations. As proposed, the brewery would produce less than 3,500 barrels of 5 malt liquor per year in accordance with State Statute 340A.301 (See Attachment) which establishes a 6 separate regulatory category for smaller breweries. In an effort to build interest in their products they also "7 seek the ability to sell their finished product in a retail setting. 9 The owners have been in contact with the City's Planning Staff to ensure that they will meet all zoning 110 requirements. However, the presence of an off-sale retail component triggers the need for a local liquor 11 license under City Code Chapter 302 (See Attachment). 13 City Code allows for five types of liquor licenses including; on-sale, on-sale wine, club, special Sunday, 14, and off-sale. Currently there is not a specific category for breweries or brew pubs. As a result, the 15 proposed brewery would fall under the off-sale liquor license category. However, City Code limits the 116 number of off-sale liquor store licenses to a maximum of ten — all of which are currently in use. The 1 ��7 applicant is seeking a means to obtain a liquor license through the creation of a new category for their 11 111",,'11 business type. In response to the applicant's request, the City Council set a public hearing for April 25, 119 2011 to consider the matter. 20 2 1 In setting the Hearing, the City Council asked Staff to inquire with other cities on whether they had 22 considered similar licensing requests but had eventually denied the applicant. Staff solicited comment from 23 approximately 100 Minnesota cities via a listserv. Among the respondents, several had recently amended 24, their Code to accommodate similar requests, but none of them had issued a denial. 26 Staff will also note that the City received an email from an existing liquor store representative indicating 27 their desire for the Council to deny the request. A copy of the email is attached. 28 POLICY OBJECTIVE 29 Although there are some State-imposed restrictions with regard to off-sale locations, municipalities have 3o discretion in how many liquor licenses it issues. While the City has historically limited the number of off- 3 1 sale establishments, it does not place limits on other establishments that serve alcohol Page I of 4