Memorandum        DRAFT                  

City of Lawrence

Department of Administrative Services

 

TO:

David Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Frank S. Reeb, Administrative Services Director/City Clerk

 

CC:

Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager

Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager

Toni Wheeler, Director of Legal Services

Scott Miller, Staff Attorney

Scott McCullough, Director of Planning and Development Services

Lynne Braddock-Zollner, Historic Resources Administrator

 

Date:

May 23, 2008

 

RE:

Sidewalk Dining Proposed Ordinance 8274 and Draft Compliance Procedures

 

Introduction

During the January 22, 2008 City Commission meeting, following a review of possible revisions to the current sidewalk dining license requirements, the City Commission directed staff to prepare a proposed ordinance modifying sidewalk dining requirements and bring back proposed guidelines for a future Commission meeting.  Specifically, the City Commission directed staff to: lower the sidewalk dining food sales requirement from 70% to 55% for new establishments; remove the 55% food sales requirement for existing drinking establishments that had legal nonconforming use status from the 55% food sales requirement for downtown drinking establishments; and provide draft language that a drinking establishment that had existing outdoor space, or the ability to add outdoor space, would not be eligible for a sidewalk dining license.  In addition, the Commission asked staff to develop sidewalk dining compliance procedures. Lastly, the Commission requested information on a possible enforcement committee or a committee to review sidewalk dining applications. 

 

Proposed Ordinance 8274

Section 6-1202 of proposed ordinance 8274 contains new language requiring compliance with Section 20-509 of the City Code, which contains the 55% food sales requirement for drinking establishments in the CD district.  The proposed ordinance also deletes the current 70% food sales requirement found at 6-1202.5.  By requiring compliance with 20-509, those drinking establishments that have legal nonconforming use status for that food sales requirement, also would not have to meet the food sales requirement for the sidewalk dining and hospitality license.

 

In order to assist City Clerk staff with license administration, section 6-1202 of the draft ordinance also provides that all licenses will expire on November 1 of each year.  Currently, a sidewalk dining license expires one year from the date it was issued. 

 

The proposed ordinance also adds new language in 6-1202.3 which gives the City Manager, or his designee, the authority to establish reasonable administrative regulations for the purpose of protecting the community’s health, safety and welfare.  The new language also provides these administrative regulations would be conditions of any sidewalk dining and hospitality license issued and copies of such administrative regulations would be provided to the applicant upon the issuance of the license. 

 

In addition, new Section 6-1202.13 of proposed ordinance 8274 contains language that requires the hospitality establishment to derive at least 55% of its gross receipts from the sale of food and non-alcoholic beverages in order to be eligible for a license unless the hospitality establishment has no reasonable alternative location for an outdoor hospitality area.  This has the effect of only granting a license to those hospitality establishments that do not meet the 55% food sales requirement but are otherwise nonconforming legal drinking establishments when they do not have someplace else that practically accommodates outdoor hospitality. 

 

Proposed Administrative Compliance Procedures

The attached proposed compliance procedures document the current process the City Clerk’s Office uses to process a new or renewal license.  That is, Section 3.A. beginning on page 2 documents that the City Clerk’s Office will verify the code required information to determine an application is complete.  In addition, Section 3A documents the roles of other City departments to ensure an application meets all requirements, including the appropriate sale, possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the right of way.  The remainder of Section 3.0 contains new requirements the City Clerk’s Office and the Codes Enforcement Division would implement to ensure compliance with appropriate code provisions and guidelines.    

 

Requested Action:  Receive the staff report, adopt on first reading Ordinance 8274, and approve the proposed compliance procedures.