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Department Approval <br />MEQUEST FOR, COUNCIL ACTION <br />Date: 07/28/08 <br />Item No.: 12.f <br />City Manager Approval <br />Item Description: Consider Amending City Code Chapter 302.13; Off Sale Liquor License <br />Requirements, for Roundy's (Rainbow Foods) <br />1� BACKGROUND <br />2 Roundy's Supermarkets Inc., operating under the name of Rainbow Foods, has applied for an off-sale <br />1 3 liquor license for their new grocery store located at 1201 W. Larpenteur Avenue. The store is scheduled to <br />41 open later this year. <br />6 City Code Chapter 302.13 limits the number of off-sale liquor licenses (liquor stores) to a maximum of ten <br />7 (10). Currently, all ten of those licenses have been issued and will be subject to an annual review and <br />8 renewal process in December. Issuing a license to Roundy's at this time would require an amendment to <br />the City Code. <br />1 � ouncilmembers may recall that the issue of increasing the allowable off` sal liquor licenses was before the <br />1� 2 Council as recently as February, 2008. However, at that time the Council chose to take no action in favor <br />1 of waiting until an actual applicant was before them. Roundy's is aware of the restrictions set forth under <br />1� 1111 the Code, and is requesting that the City Council amend the Code to accommodate their request. <br />1 5 POLICY OBJECTIVE <br />1� 6 It is widely accepted that it is in the City's best interest to regulate the sale of alcohol within City limits to <br />1� 7 ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens. Establishing a limit on the number of off` sal liquor <br />1 f licenses seems to support that objective. However, the limit on off-sale liquor licenses is in contrast with <br />1 the City's position on the sale of alcohol from other types of establishments, which are unlimited. City <br />20 Code places no such restrictions on restaurants that serve alcohol or on establishments that sell 3.2% <br />2 1 alcoholic products. In total, the City has 61 establishments that sell alcoholic beverages. <br />22 <br />23 One might also make the argument that the City should limit the number of off-sale liquor licenses to <br />2,4 protect the interests of existing local businesses. However, this too would be unique inasmuch as the City <br />25 does not provide this type of economic protection for other retail sectors. <br />26 <br />27 Finally, one could argue that the location of an off-sale liquor store is a relevant factor in determining <br />28 whether to issue a license. The Zoning Code does address this to a certain extent. However, some cities <br />2,') have taken the added step of establishing a minimum distance between liquor stores. <br />MMOMIN <br />