CNA and OLCC Liquor Permits - What's the Connection?
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Daniel Greenstadt
May 12, 2014, 11:36:56 PM5/12/14
to concord...@googlegroups.com
CNA Board,
An issue that arises fairly frequently at neighborhood associations like ours is related to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) and the granting or renewal of permits for businesses to sell liquor. It comes up often enough for CNA - typically raised by a concerned neighbor(s) - that I think it's important for all of us to have at least a basic understanding of how CNA can and does relate to these issues.
Typically, things of this nature would fall first to the CNA's Safety and Livability Committee, but we haven't really had enough volunteers from within the board or among the public in quite a few months to keep the committee up and running at full force. I've been doing my best to stay on top of current OLCC affairs. The OLCC permitting issues often arises in the context of the Good Neighbor Agreements that CNA regularly facilitates between local businesses and residents.
Pasted below is an email worth reading. I've shortened the string but, in essence, I had asked OLCC License Investigator, Dan McNeal, to clarify what and how CNA (or any neighborhood association) can or should be involved in OLCC permitting. He provided an informative answer and he attached (see attachments) the relevant documents. Particularly see pages 20/21/22 of the "guide."
In short, the OLCC strives - or is required - to operate it's permitting/renewal process within some very narrow constraints that relate strictly to the sale of alcohol. In my view, it's often a somewhat fuzzy line. As an example, OLCC might - based on input from neighbors, CNA, etc. - deny or restrict a permit if public drunkenness were a demonstrated problem associated with an applicant's business. But if patrons of the business were not legally drunk but were nevertheless causing problems by loitering near their cars, causing noise disturbances, creating parking/traffic problems, dumping cigarette litter, etc., OLCC asserts that they cannot do anything about it. Other laws might apply to the situation, but none of it will have any bearing on the establishment's OLCC permit status. It may be easy for a reasonable person to argue that a lot of those supposedly "unrelated to alcohol" problems would go away if the establishment(s) were not attracting customers by serving alcohol, but that is not the lens through which OLCC views the situation.
At any rate, it can all ad up to a rather frustrating situation for neighbors who feel they can plainly see the negative impacts of more and more bars/restaurants opening in their neighborhoods, but there clearly are limits on what, if anything, neighbors and neighborhood associations can do to influence the OLCC permitting process. Hence the value of Good Neighbor Agreements where many non-alcohol related issues are often addressed.
Happy reading!
Daniel Greenstadt
Chair
Concordia Neighborhood Association
-------- Original Message --------
An issue that arises fairly frequently at neighborhood associations like ours is related to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) and the granting or renewal of permits for businesses to sell liquor. It comes up often enough for CNA - typically raised by a concerned neighbor(s) - that I think it's important for all of us to have at least a basic understanding of how CNA can and does relate to these issues.
Typically, things of this nature would fall first to the CNA's Safety and Livability Committee, but we haven't really had enough volunteers from within the board or among the public in quite a few months to keep the committee up and running at full force. I've been doing my best to stay on top of current OLCC affairs. The OLCC permitting issues often arises in the context of the Good Neighbor Agreements that CNA regularly facilitates between local businesses and residents.
Pasted below is an email worth reading. I've shortened the string but, in essence, I had asked OLCC License Investigator, Dan McNeal, to clarify what and how CNA (or any neighborhood association) can or should be involved in OLCC permitting. He provided an informative answer and he attached (see attachments) the relevant documents. Particularly see pages 20/21/22 of the "guide."
In short, the OLCC strives - or is required - to operate it's permitting/renewal process within some very narrow constraints that relate strictly to the sale of alcohol. In my view, it's often a somewhat fuzzy line. As an example, OLCC might - based on input from neighbors, CNA, etc. - deny or restrict a permit if public drunkenness were a demonstrated problem associated with an applicant's business. But if patrons of the business were not legally drunk but were nevertheless causing problems by loitering near their cars, causing noise disturbances, creating parking/traffic problems, dumping cigarette litter, etc., OLCC asserts that they cannot do anything about it. Other laws might apply to the situation, but none of it will have any bearing on the establishment's OLCC permit status. It may be easy for a reasonable person to argue that a lot of those supposedly "unrelated to alcohol" problems would go away if the establishment(s) were not attracting customers by serving alcohol, but that is not the lens through which OLCC views the situation.
At any rate, it can all ad up to a rather frustrating situation for neighbors who feel they can plainly see the negative impacts of more and more bars/restaurants opening in their neighborhoods, but there clearly are limits on what, if anything, neighbors and neighborhood associations can do to influence the OLCC permitting process. Hence the value of Good Neighbor Agreements where many non-alcohol related issues are often addressed.
Happy reading!
Daniel Greenstadt
Chair
Concordia Neighborhood Association
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | Re: Concordia Neighborhood notification of OLCC Extension of Premisesrequestfor Wilder Bar Cafe' |
|---|---|
| Date: | Mon, 12 May 2014 11:32:19 -0700 |
| From: | Dan McNeal <dan.m...@state.or.us> |
| To: | Daniel Greenstadt <Dan...@Tassociates.com> |
Daniel-
I am attaching a link to of OLCC's guide to liquor licensing
in Oregon:
Pages 20/21/22 list some of the reasons the Commission may
deny a license, and issues the Commission cannot consider.
Please note that some of the information is out-of-date; for
instance, the Commissioners have delegated their authority to
approve applications that receive an unfavorable recommendation
from a local government to the Executive Director if the
unfavorable recommendation is not supported by the Statutes or
Rules that are the basis for license denial or restriction.
The Commission's authority to deny license applications is
found in Oregon Statutes under ORS 471.313 and ORS 471.329 in
Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) in Chapter 845. The
Commission's authority to cancel or suspend licenses is found in
ORS 471.315.
You will find links to the statutes and administrative rules
at our website - www.Oregon.gov/olcc by
clicking on the Laws and Rules link on the home page.
There are some limitations, however. The courts have found
the provisions of ORS 471.313
(1) "Not demanded by public interest or convenience" are too
broad to apply without adopting specific Administrative
Rules, so the application of this section is found in OLCC
Administrative Rules (OAR) 845-005-0326 (2) and (3) - Proximity
to Facilities and Problem Areas.
For cities (like Portland) that have a noise ordinance, ORS
471.329 limits OLCC to considering from inside a business as
"excessive" only if the noise violates the local noise
ordinance, and prohibits OLCC from consider noise outside a
premises as being excessive only if the noise violates the noise
ordinance or is not "the type a reasonable person would not
expect to hear outside a premises licensed for the service of
alcoholic beverages." Generally, patron talking, even loudly,
is noise a reasonable person would expect to hear.
Finally, the Commission has recently amended rules regarding
outdoor areas, and adopted a new rule for outdoor areas not
abutting a licensed building (typically these are "food cart"
operations) that are effective June 1, 2014. I am including
scanned copies of those rules for your review. For both types
of outdoor areas, a business cannot have amplified entertainment
between midnight and 7 am.
I hope this is helpful.
Sincerely,
Daniel G. McNeal
OLCC License Investigator
OLCC License Investigator
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