Liquor
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New Applications
You are encouraged to meet with the Licence Coordinator to discuss the nature of your proposal and applicable processing fee prior to submitting an application.
» Application Requirements
» Public Consultation
» Council Report(s)
» Application Process
Application Requirements
You must complete and submit an Application for Consideration by City Council for a New Liquor Licence (67kb), with all required accompanying documentation and the appropriate application processing fee. This form is also available at the Licence Office.
You will need to attach the following documentation to your application form:
- Letter describing the rationale for your request, management experience, proposed theme or entertainment within establishment, level and type of food service, hours of operation;
- Floor plan showing all tables and seating, as well as outdoor seating, smoking areas and all floor area dimensions and calculations;
- Front elevation rendering is desirable if you are proposing a new building or exterior alterations to an existing building; and
- 4. Proof you have a secured vested interest in the property.
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Public Consultation
We encourage you to liaise with area residents and business operators prior to submitting your formal application to advise of a possible application and eliminate or minimize the public’s surprise once we conduct the official neighbourhood public consultation. The Chief Licence Inspector will determine the level of public consultation. Processing fees will be based on the degree of public consultation required for each application.
The progressive stages of public consultation are outlined below:
Stage 1 - Site Sign
The site sign must conform to size, shape and lettering indicated on the Sign Guidelines and Sample. Specific wording and content for the sign will be provided by the Licence Coordinator. All applications will require a site sign unless indicated otherwise by the Licence Coordinator.
Stage 2 - Neighbourhood Notification
We will prepare and circulate a notification flyer to surrounding residents and businesses located within a minimum radius of approximately 150 metres (approximately 1.5 blocks) of the existing or proposed establishment. The Notice of Application will encourage all recipients to provide comments to us within 3 weeks from the date of the notice. Notices will not be circulated until the Licence Coordinator has received confirmation that the site sign is installed.
Stage 3 - Public Meeting
We will schedule and advertise a public meeting. This meeting has the following key objectives:
- To provide a forum to present a preliminary staff position on the proposal and an objective assessment of potential impacts of the proposal to area residents and business operators.
- To give you an opportunity to provide further clarification on the nature of the proposal.
- To provide residents and local businesses an opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions of both staff and the applicant.
We will normally schedule the public meeting in the last week of the neighbourhood flyer notification period or shortly thereafter. Attendance at the meeting will be recorded and each attendee will be asked to indicate their support or opposition to the proposal. Verbatim minutes of the meeting will not be recorded.
Stage 4 - Telephone Survey
A telephone survey will normally be recommended in cases where there appears to be considerable negative feedback or a clear split in support for and against the proposal within the neighbourhood. The actual cost of the telephone survey, determined through a bid process, is in addition to the processing fee and is estimated at approximately $5,000. The telephone survey cost must be paid to the City by you, the applicant. The City will in turn reimburse the firm chosen to conduct the survey.
A bid request to conduct the telephone survey will be submitted to approve pre-qualified vendors by the City Purchasing Department. The lowest bidder will be awarded the contract. The City will specify the following:
- Area from which the sample is to be taken;
- Required number of completed calls;
- Required level of sample accuracy;
- Times during which telephoning may take place;
- Languages in which the interviews will be conducted; and
- Script and questions and all other information that may be required under the circumstances.
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Council Reports
We will prepare a report to Council which will include comments from the following departments: Police, Fire Prevention, Development Services and Social Development (including Central Area Planning, Heritage Planning and Cultural Planning when applicable).
The Chief Licence Inspector will recommend to endorse or not endorse, or put forward for consideration to Council a report including the following information:
- The results of all public consultation(s) and a summary of public concerns and/or support;
- An analysis of your application with respect to existing Council policy, LCLB policy, your history/background, and all issues concerning the proposed location. We will also provide, when applicable, an objective pros and cons analysis of your application.
All respondents providing their full name and address as part of the public consultation will be notified before the report is presented to Council. The Council report will be presented at the first available meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on Planning and Environment, subject to the City Clerk’s Office report deadlines. The Council decision is forwarded by the City Clerk’s Office to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. A motion to defer a decision pending results of further public consultation will progress the application to the next step in the Public Consultation Process.
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Application Process
Step I (Application Review & Report Preparation, base fee $817)
We will review the specifics of your proposal and determine the required level of public consultation. Your application will be circulated to relevant staff departments for comments. A Council report will typically be prepared at the end of this processing step for the following applications: Motor Vessels not requesting dockside service; very minor amendments to an existing Liquor Primary liquor licence and Motor Vessels requesting dockside service in areas where there are little or no residential uses in close proximity.
Step II (Neighbourhood Flyer Notification, fee increment $981)
The total application fee for applications required to conduct Neighbourhood Notification is $1,798. All applications, except those noted in Step I above, will require neighbourhood notification. At the end of this step in the process, a Council report will typically be prepared for the following Liquor Primary liquor licence applications; small hotel lounges; amendments to existing licences and some types of new establishments in areas of the City where there are little or no residential uses in close proximity.
Step III (Public Meeting, fee increment $1,689)
The total application fee for applications required to conduct a Public Meeting is $3,487. A public meeting will normally be recommended for all new Liquor Primary liquor licence applications or major amendments to existing liquor licences in close proximity to residential uses and/or which may have a negative impact on adjacent businesses.
New Restaurant Class-2 businesses in close proximity to residential uses may also require a public meeting.
At the end of this step, a final decision would be reached by Council on nearly all applications. Applications for establishments in designated entertainment areas, industrial areas, the core area of the Central Business District (CBD), areas with little adjacent residential development, or for a conversion of an existing liquor licence to a licence that will have a lesser impact (e.g., reduced hours; elimination of outdoor seating, etc.) would not normally be subject to the telephone survey requirement.
Step IV (Telephone Survey, fee increment $926)
If your application requires a telephone survey, you must pay an additional $926 for an application processing fee. Therefore, the total application processing fee will be $4,413.
We expect that most applications required to conduct a telephone survey will be as a result of a Council decision. We will revise the report to Council to incorporate findings of the telephone survey.
Note: All application processing for liquor licence categories not specifically noted here would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Typical processing time for most applications is approximately three months, but may vary depending upon the nature of the application.
Applications not complying with Council policy or LCLB policy will delay processing and may not be brought to Council until the policy issues have been resolved.
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