Excise And Licenses Update
Members of Excise and Licenses and the Mayor’s Office met with the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation Zoning and Planning Committee (INC-ZAP) on September 28, 2013, in a meeting dedicated to learning about the recently updated Policies and Procedures for Liquor and Cabaret Licenses and the upcoming regulatory system for retail marijuana. INC-ZAP is composed of representatives of Registered Neighborhood Organizations and the committee meets monthly for presentations and discussions from various City departments on zoning and development issues.
The new policies and procedures for cabaret and liquor licenses went into effect in June 2013 and are posted on the city website at denvergov.org/liquorlicenses. The major changes are notification to Relevant Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNO), the requirement of a detailed floor plan, changes to premises that trigger hearings and Good Neighbor Agreements. A relevant RNO is any neighborhood whose boundaries encompass any portion of the Designated Area. The Designated Area is a rectangle formed by counting 5 blocks to the north, south, east and west from the proposed location of the license. RNO’s will be given 20 days’ notice of the public hearing for the license. RNO’s may request that the public hearing be rescheduled for 45 days from notice for applications of interest. The applicant must submit a detailed floor plan of the premises showing all interior and exterior areas where privileges of the license may be exercised. The floor plan must include the kitchen area if applying for a Hotel and Restaurant license. Changes in the premises that trigger a public hearing included the addition of any exterior patios, whether they are at grade or on a floor or roof above, and any increase to the size or seating capacity. Good Neighbor Agreements (GNA) are between an RNO and the applicant. The GNA will be kept with the applicant/licensee’s permanent license file; however, the entire GNA will not be attached to their license. Up to four conditions of the GNA may be attached to the license, as long as they are legal, enforceable and displayable on the face of the license (concisely written). Examples of conditions that meet these criteria are specific hours of operation and notification to the RNO of transfer of license.
Until January 1, 2016, only licensees of existing medical marijuana establishments may apply for a retail marijuana store license. The application process opened on October 1, 2013 for medical marijuana centers licensed in Denver and Colorado and in good standing. Public hearings will be conducted for all retail marijuana applications. The Designated Area and notification of Relevant RNO’s is the same as for liquor. Public hearings will not be based on ‘needs and desires’ as is for liquor, since marijuana is still illegal on the federal level. If a person or RNO wishes to oppose an application, the reasoning must be based on known violations of City or State retail marijuana rules or regulations, evidence that the establishment has been operated in a manner or that issuance of the license will adverse impact the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood where the establishment is/will be located. Same as for liquor, up to four conditions from Good Neighbor Agreements may be attached to the license.
Medical marijuana establishments that apply for a retail license may either surrender their medical license or co-locate the medical and retail licenses at the same premises. If an existing medical marijuana establishment wants to open a retail store at a different location, there will be a public hearing on the transfer of location.
The following are other regulations concerning retail marijuana establishments:
• Retail marijuana stores must open no earlier than 8 am and close by 7 pm each day
• No one under age 21 may purchase or consume marijuana from a retail store (Persons 18-21 may purchase or consume medical marijuana)
• No one in Colorado may consume marijuana in public locations
• The Department of Excise and Licenses will soon finalize and make available a list of the approximately 230 locations where a medical marijuana center license has been issued as of October 1, 2013.
Visit denvergov.org/businesslicensing for the latest on retail and medical marijuana licensing news.