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VII.2. First Reading: Ordinance Amending Section 1200.43 of the Hopkins City Code regarding Civil Penalties for Liquor License Violations and Readopting the Days/Hours Provisions of Minn. Stat. § 340A.504; Domeier (CR2017-057)April 4, 2017 Council Report 2017-057 First Reading: Ordinance Amending Section 1200 of the Hopkins City Code: Sale, Consumption and Display of Alcoholic Beverages Proposed Action Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move to adopt for first reading Ordinance 2017-1122, An Ordinance Amending Section 1200.54 of the Hopkins City Code Regarding Civil Penalties for Liquor License Violations and Readopting the Days/Hours Provisions of Minn. Stat. § 340A.504. Overview Adoption of the above-stated motion will begin the process of amending Section 1200 of the Hopkins City Code changing the established standards by which the City imposes civil penalties for violating license conditions. The motion will also readopt the hours/days of sale provided in Minn. Stat. § 340A.504 in light of new legislation related to Sunday Sales. It is the intention of the City to impose sanctions against a liquor license if a violation has occurred. In addition, the violations are considered for up to three (3) years in the event another same or similar violation occurs. Should a license holder disagree with any civil penalty imposed by the City, they will have 14 -days from the date of imposition to request an administrative hearing. The draft ordinance states that all hearings will be handled through the City’s administrative hearing process outlined in Section 355.09 of the City Code. The City Attorney has recommended that the City readopt the hours/days of sale provided in Minn. Stat. Minn. Stat. § 340A.504 because of the changes recently adopted for Sunday Sales. Sunday sales will be allowed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for all off-sale license holders beginning on July 2. The legislative change does not change the brewery off-sale hours allowed in Hopkins. Brewery off-sale Sunday hours are currently 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the exception of no sales on Easter Sunday. The draft ordinance has been reviewed by the City Attorney. Primary Issues to Consider  Revised Presumptive Penalty Grid  Elimination of Best Practices Program  Changes to hearing process  New Sunday Sales legislation Supporting Documents  Proposed Ordinance 2017-1122  Current Section 1200.54 Amy Domeier, City Clerk Primary Issues to Consider Revised Presumptive Penalty Grid Staff deems the proposed penalties in the grid below to be appropriate. Multiple violations are computed using the three years immediately preceding the date of the most recent violation. The Police Chief, or his designee, has the right to request a hearing before the Council if they believe that substantial reasons exist justifying a deviation from the presumptive penalty grid. The City Council may also deviate from the penalty grid if reasons exist justifying the deviation with written findings. Violation Current Ordinance Proposed Ordinance 1st Violation $500 fine plus 4-days suspension $500 fine 2nd Violation $1,000 fine plus 6-days suspension $1,000 fine plus 1-day suspension 3rd Violation $2,000 fine plus 10-days suspension $2,000 fine plus 5-days suspension 4th Violation Revocation Revocation Elimination of Best Practices Program The Best Practices Program has been in place and offered to liquor license holders for over 10 years. To date, only one license holder has done what was needed to par ticipate in the program but did not join the program the following year. Recently, a liquor license holder showed interest in participating in the program after they were cited for a liquor license violation. Changes to hearing process The current ordinance requires that all administrative hearings are handled by the Police Chief or his/her designee. Staff is proposing that all hearings be handled by an administrative hearing officer through the process outlined in Section 355.09 of the City Code. License holders would have 14-days from the date a civil penalty was imposed to request an administrative hearing. Staff would hire an independent hearing officer to hold the hearing. New Sunday Liquor Legislation The City Attorney has recommended that the City readopt the hours/days of sale provided in Minn. Stat. Minn. Stat. § 340A.504 because of the changes recently adopted for Sunday Sales. Sunday sales will be allowed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for all off-sale license holders beginning on July 2. The legislative change does not change the brewery off-sale hours allowed in Hopkins. Brewery off-sale Sunday hours are currently 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the exception of no sales on Easter Sunday. CITY OF HOPKINS COUNTY OF HENNEPIN ORDINANCE NO. 2017-1122 ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 1200.54 OF THE HOPKINS CITY CODE REGARDING CIVIL PENALTIES FOR LIQUOR LICENSE VIOLATIONS AND READOPTING THE DAYS/HOURS PROVISIONS OF MINN. STAT. § 340A.504 THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOPKINS HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 1200.54 of the Hopkins City Code is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following: 1200.54. Presumptive Civil Penalties. Subdivision 1. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish a standard by which the City imposes civil penalties for violating license conditions imposed under this Chapter. This section shall apply to all licenses that are issued under this Chapter. Subd. 2. Presumptive Penalties. a. The following violations are subject to the presumptive penalty grid provided in this subdivision:  Sale of alcoholic beverage to person under the age of 21;  Sale of alcoholic beverage to obviously intoxicated person;  Sale or consumption of alcoholic beverage outside of permitted hours;  Illegal gambling on licensed premises;  Permitting person to leave on-sale premises with alcoholic beverage; and  Any violation of the City Code pertaining to fire, building, or health codes. b. The penalties in the grid below are presumed to be appropriate. Multiple violations are computed using the three years immediately preceding the date of the most recent violation. The Police Chief, or its designee, has the right to request a hearing before the Council if they believe that substantial reasons exist justifying a deviation from the presumptive penalty grid. The Council may deviate if it determines that substantial reasons exist justifying a deviation and must support any deviation with written findings. PRESUMPTIVE PENALTY GRID: 1st Violation 2nd Violation 3rd Violation 4th Violation $500 fine $1,000 fine plus 1-day suspension $2,000 plus 5-day suspension Revocation Subd. 3. Mandatory Revocation. License revocation is mandatory if a licensee commits a felony relating to the licensed activity or sells alcohol beverages while its license is suspended. Subd. 4. Administrative Hearing. If a licensee disagrees with any civil penalty imposed by the City, it shall have 14 days from the date of imposition to request an administrative hearing. A suspension or revocation shall not begin until the 14-day appeal period has tolled. The administrative hearing shall be held in accordance with Section 355.09 of the City Code. Subd. 5. Suspensions. Any license suspension shall commence on the same day of the week as the occurrence of the violation and shall run for consecutive days until the suspension period ends. SECTION 2. In light of the recent legislative amendment to state law as related to Sunday sales of off-sale intoxicating liquor, the City hereby reaffirms its previous adoption of Minnesota Statutes Section 340A.504 with reference to the hours and days of sale, as already provided by Section 1200.46 of the City Code. SECTION 3. The effective date of this ordinance shall be the date of publication. First Reading: April 4, 2017 Second Reading: April 18, 2017 Date of Publication: April 27, 2017 Date Ordinance Takes Effect: April 27, 2017 By: ____________________________ Molly Cummings, Mayor ATTEST: ______________________________ Amy Domeier, City Clerk CURRENT CITY CODE – SECTION 1200.54 1200.54. Presumptive Civil Penalties. Subdivision 1. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish a standard by which the City Council determines the length of license suspensions and the propriety of revocations, and shall apply to all licensed premises under this Chapter. These penalties are presumed to be appropriate for every case; however, the Council may deviate in an individual case where the Council finds that there exist substantial reasons making it more appropriate to deviate, such as, but not limited to, a licensee’s efforts in combination with the State or City to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors. When deviating from these standards, the Council will provide written findings that support the penalty selected . Subd. 2. Minimum Penalties for Violations. The minimum penalties for convictions or violations must be presumed as follows: a. The following violations require revocation of the license on the first violation:  Commission of a felony related to the licensed activity.  Sale of alcoholic beverages while license is under suspension. Best Practices Establishments. Establishments entering into an agreement with the Police Department as a Best Practices Establishment will use the Best Practices grid. b. The following violations are subject to the penalty grid described below:  Sale of alcoholic beverage to under-age person.  Sale of alcoholic beverage to obviously intoxicated person.  Sale/consumption of alcoholic beverage before/after hours.  Illegal gambling on premises.  Permit person to leave premises with alcoholic beverage (on-sale allowing off-sale).  Violations of City Ordinances pertaining to fire, building, or health codes. 1st Violation 2nd Violation 3rd Violation 4th Violation $500 plus 4 days suspension $1,000 plus 6 days suspension $2,000 plus 10 days suspension Revocation BEST PRACTICES PENALTY GRID: 1st Violation 2nd Violation 3rd Violation 4th Violation 5th Violation $500 $1,000 plus 5 days suspension, stayed $1,500 plus 5 days suspension $2,000 plus 10 days suspension Revocation Subd. 3. Violations would be handled by an administrative hearing with the Police Chief or his/her designee with the presumptive penalty given to license holders. License holders have the right to request a hearing before the City Council if not in agreement with the presumptive penalty. The Police Chief also has the right to request a hearing before the Council if he/she believes there exists substantial reason making it appropriate to deviate from the presumptive penalty. If the Police Chief and the licensee agree on the presumptive penalty, these will be reported to the City Council in a staff report. (Amended by Ord. 2005-959) Subd 4. Suspensions. Suspensions will commence on the same day of the week as the occurrence of the violation. Unless specified, numbers indicate consecutive days’ suspension during regular business hours. Subd. 5. Computation of Time. Multiple violations are computed by checking the time period of the three years immediately prior to the date of the most current violation. (Amended by Ord. 2005-959)