Peoria Standard

City of Peoria Liquor Commission met July 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

A meeting of the City of Peoria Liquor Commission was held in Room 110, City Hall, 419 Fulton Street, Peoria, Illinois, Chairwoman Coates presiding, with proper notice having been posted.

ROLL CALL:

Present: Chairwoman Coates; Commissioners: Michael O'Brien, Timothy Spears, Paul Winkler - 4; Absent: None.

Others present: Liquor Investigator Kevin Slavens; Fire Engineer Charlie Perrin; Assistant City Attorney Michael Toren; Community Development Director Joe Dulin, Building Safety Manager Rich Storm; Senior Urban Planner Kerilyn Weick; Chief Deputy City Clerk Trina Bonds; and concerned citizens.

I. CALL TO ORDER Chairwoman Coates called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m.

II. LIQUOR SITE APPLICATIONS

Chairwoman Coates read the amendment to Section 3-57, which will be read at the beginning of every Liquor Commission Meeting.

"The Liquor Commission is a recommending body with respect to site approval. Our function is to determine if the location of an establishment is appropriate for the class of liquor license being requested and then make a recommendation to the City Council as to whether the application should be approved or denied. The City Council makes the final decision.

Under Section 3-57 of the Code of the City of Peoria any misrepresentation or false statement made to either this Commission or the City Council relating to the proposed business to be operated on the site can result in a denial of your liquor license; suspension and/or revocation of a license if already issued, and a fine of up to $1,000."

22-19 Friendly Valley Tavern, Inc. (Continued from 7 /5/22)

d/b/a Friendly Valley Tavern

3708 N. Meadowbrook

Requesting to Add: Subclass 2 (live entertainment)

Requesting to Expand: Subclass 3 (beer garden)

Sean Kenny, Owner/President, Friendly Valley Tavern, Inc., presented a request to add a Subclass 2 (live entertainment) and to expand a Subclass 3 (beer garden) to an existing Class A (tavern) Liquor License at 3708 N. Meadowbrook.

In discussion with Chairwoman Coates, Fire Engineer Perrin gave an overview of a handout he shared for the Commission. He said previously, he was not able to give an accurate occupancy load based on inadequate information that was received at the July 5th meeting. He noted the updated site plan submitted to him showed an approximate area of 18,000 square feet. He said according to the International Fire Code (IFC), the total would be 3,600 people for standing room only. He reported four exits would be required, and he said there should be 15 feet for each exit to accommodate the number of the occupancy load. He then addressed the issue of live fires (bonfires). He remarked the adopted code for open burning within the City of Peoria stated bonfires were not approved for the public. He said the Fire Dept. might allow bonfires only for religious and educational purposes. He went on to say bonfires were not safe and he said it wasn't a good idea to mix fire and alcohol.

In response to Chairwoman Coates' question if whether he had any comments regarding the Fire Department's remarks, Mr. Kenny said he did not have any comments.

In discussion with Commissioner O'Brien regarding the current number of exits, Director Dulin explained he went out on the inspection of the property with Building Safety Manager Rich Storm. He confirmed they had reviewed the number of exits with the applicant and where they would be required. He said they informed him if the request had been approved, he would be required to put the additional exits in place by Friday of that week. He gave additional background pertinent to the decision being made. He said while the understanding was based on the square footage there was a 3,600-occupancy load, he noted clearly the site could not handle that many people. He stated the Community Development Dept. would ask that a condition of the approval would be to limit the occupancy to 400 people. He said another caveat was the property owner needed a lease from the City, and he said the stipulation could be added to that lease. He said the exits would still be in place to accommodate larger crowds, but if the owner was ever in violation of the lease, enforcement could be taken. He went on to say that a violation could also affect the Liquor License of the establishment. He said regarding the parking issues, he pointed out the limited occupancy load could address a small portion of the concerns that were· mentioned. He confirmed the owner had added 35 additional parking spaces in front of the business. He noted the applicant had also provided Staff a list of upcoming events and he reported he would be utilizing an agreement with Landmark to use their north parking lot area and provide shuttle service to his bar. He said the owner had also agreed to inform his customers to carpool to the site, to adhere to the "no parking" signs, and to not park in nearby private business parking lots.

In discussion with Chairwoman Coates in regard to the number of exits, Director Dulin clarified that the total footage area would be provided for, but he said there would likely be three as opposed to four to make sure they were spread out evenly. Building Safety Manager Storm added the way the site was set up, he said the four exits would be problematic because two of them would be going into a parking lot instead of a public right-of-way. He said taking that into consideration, they decided to require three at 20 sq. ft. instead of four at 15 sq. ft. He noted this would allow them to adhere to another requirement for them to have a lighted egress.

During more comments, Attorney Toren reported there was a draft lease in place. He said in terms of the limitations discussed, he said if approval was granted, they could make sure the stated issues were included to be enforced in a number of different ways on the backend.

In response to a question from Commissioner O'Brien regarding enforcement ofthe parking, Director Dulin said it would be the Police and Public Works Department's responsibility to enforce parking issues. He reiterated they had asked Mr. Kenny to also communicate with his patrons to adhere to parking restrictions or their vehicles would be towed.

Commissioner O'Brien mentioned the Uftring Group's property and it was pointed out that signs were also posted there to prohibit unauthorized parking. Liquor Investigator Slavens pointed out it was private property, and he said the owner would be responsible for having vehicles towed from the property. Staff also encouraged Mr. Kenny to communicate for with his patrons to also not park in the nearby private business parking lots.

In response to a question from Commissioner Winkler regarding his ability to comply with the City of Peoria's stipulations, Mr. Kenny confirmed that he was comfortable with the restrictions and willing to comply.

During more discussion, Attorney Toren said the City could address some of the issues with a Plan of Operation. He mentioned the parking issues were located on City and other private property owner's property. He said there was only so much Mr. Kenny could do, and he noted the enforcement would fall on the City and other private property owners. He said they could include language regarding issues that were happening specifically on the applicant's property.

More discussion was held regarding the utilization of the shuttles and the safety of the patrons, due to lighting concerns. Liquor Investigator Slavens reported Ameren would be installing additional street lighting in the area.

Hearing no more comments or questions, Chairwoman Coates called for the motion.

Before the motion, Director Dulin outlined the following stipulations:

1. Removal of Fire Pit by Friday, July 15, 2022

2. Address the agreed upon exit areas by Friday, July 15, 2022 .

3. Work with the City of Peoria to finish and execute the lease for the City property

4. Stipulation that the maximum occupancy would be 400 people for any event

5. Require the utilization of the Landmark Agreement/Shuttle Service on Friday and Saturday nights

For the record, Director Dulin suggested that Mr. Kenny continue to try to develop some type of relationship or partnership with the business owners across the street. He said the City felt a better long-term solution would be for him to try to work out some type of agreement with them to utilize the empty parking lots directly across the street. He said this could be done by releasing them of insurance liability or providing some type of financial incentive to rent out their parking lots. He said if the parking issues were not better, they could end up addressing enforcement issues again.

After brief comments, Commissioner O'Brien moved to approve the request to add a Subclass 2 {live entertainment) and to expand a Subclass 3 (beer garden) to an existing Class A (tavern) Liquor License at 3708 N. Meadowbrook, per the following stipulations 1-5:

1. Removal of Fire Pit by Friday, July 15, 2022.

2. The owner must address the agreed upon exit areas by Friday, July 15, 2022.

3. The owner must continue to work with the City of Peoria to finish and execute the lease for the City property.

4. The maximum occupancy for the outdoor area would be 400 people for any event.

5. Requirement of the utilization of the Landmark Agreement/Shuttle Service on Friday and Saturday nights.

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Winkler.

Approved by roll call vote:

Yeas: Coates, O'Brien, Spears, Winkler - 4; Nays: None; Abstention: None.

V. NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business presented for discussion.

VI. CITIZEN'S OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE LIQUOR COMMISSION

There were no citizens who wished to address the Liquor Commission.

VII. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING

The next rescheduled regular meeting of the Liquor Commission is Monday, August 1, 2022.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

Commissioner Winkler moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Commissioner O'Brien.

Approved by viva voce vote.

The Liquor Commission Meeting adjourned at 9:27 a.m.

http://www.peoriagov.org/content/uploads/2012/11/Minutes-07-12-22-Spec-Mtg_1664565655_add.pdf