[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
Whereas, the City of Pittsfield finds desirable a vibrant and
economically healthy downtown district; and
Whereas, the City of Pittsfield seeks to encourage economic
development in its downtown district, with special emphasis upon retail,
culture, arts, and entertainment venues; and
Whereas, the City of Pittsfield acknowledges that the availability
in the downtown district of support services and amenities, such as
restaurants, bars, coffee houses, and retail, will be synergistic
with existing and planned arts and entertainment venues in the downtown
district and will help encourage additional downtown development;
and
Whereas, the City of Pittsfield wishes to establish a sensible
and efficient protocol for issuing special liquor licenses for newly
developing qualified downtown restaurants; and
Whereas, the City of Pittsfield seeks to avoid impacting and/or
influencing the natural economic market forces of the local economy,
including the benefits of fair competition; and
Whereas, the City of Pittsfield recognizes the valuable contributions
to the City's inhabitants, and the investments made in existing liquor
licenses, by existing license holders in the City of Pittsfield; and
Whereas, the Mayor's Ad Hoc Committee on Alcoholic Beverages
Licenses has studied the subject matter of this article, and has recommended
its passage;
Now, therefore, the City of Pittsfield approves and enacts this
article.
[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Shall be defined as meaning the amended Downtown Pittsfield
EOA that is on file with the City of Pittsfield Licensing Board.
Shall mean the public record maintained by the Pittsfield Licensing Board which contains the information described in § 11-49.
[Ord. No. 1267,
§ I, 6-13-2023]
A qualified downtown restaurant (QDR) shall meet the following
criteria. The Licensing Board shall revoke, (or not issue in the first
instance, as the case may be) the special liquor license of any QDR
that fails to meet these criteria.
A QDR must be either a brew pub holding a pub brewery license
or a bona fide restaurant having as its primary mission the provision
of restaurant goods and services in the Downtown Development Zone.
A QDR's primary mission shall not be barroom nor dancehall goods
and services.
A QDR, other than a brew pub, shall not provide direct bar service
to patrons, except if they are waiting to be seated for a meal, or
if the requirements of Subsection (a)(3) and (4), as applicable, have
been fulfilled on the day in question.
An all-alcohol special liquor licensee shall be deemed to meet
the definitional requirements of Subsection (a)(1) if i) it operates
a full kitchen a minimum of eight hours per day, or ii) if it is open
for fewer than eight hours per day, it operates a full kitchen for
the entire period that it is open.
A special beer and malt licensee shall be deemed to meet the
definitional requirements of Subsection (a)(1) if a) the licensee
also holds a pub brewery license for the same premises or b) it operates
an on-premises kitchen i) for a minimum of eight hours per day or
ii) for the entire period it is open for business.
The Pittsfield Licensing Board shall determine reasonably whether
an applicant or licensee meets the aforementioned criteria to qualify
as a QDR.
A special liquor license is an all-alcohol liquor license
or a wine and malt beverage license issued by the Pittsfield Licensing
Board, that grants to the license holder all the rights, privileges,
and responsibilities of an all-alcohol liquor license or a wine and
malt beverage license issued in the ordinary course of MGL c. 138,
§ 12, with the following special limitations, restrictions,
and contingencies:
Special liquor licenses came into existence by Chapter 71 of
the Acts of 2005 approved by the Massachusetts General Court, and
totals five all-alcohol and four beer and malt special liquor licenses
for sale on premises. The fourth all-alcohol special license shall
be reserved solely for a QDR (as defined herein) to be located in
the same building as the Downtown Movie Theatre Project, until December
1, 2006; if application under this article is not made on or before
December 1, 2006, then the reservation shall automatically expire.
The fifth all-alcohol special liquor license shall be reserved solely
for the Colonial Theatre Association upon its application for the
same within 90 days of the first planned performance at the Colonial
Theatre. The Colonial Theatre Association shall not be required to
meet the criteria contained in the definition of the QDR. The special
act also creates four beer and malt special liquor licenses for sale
on premises, subject to the terms of this article.
Special liquor licenses may be issued only for premises located
in the Downtown Development Zone as established by the Pittsfield
City Council.
Special liquor licenses shall not be transferable, nor shall
they be marketed for sale, sold, pledged, nor encumbered, except for
government encumbrances.
Special liquor licenses, if revoked or no longer in use, shall
be returned physically, with all of the legal rights and privileges
pertaining thereto, to the City of Pittsfield Licensing Board (the
"Licensing Board"), forthwith.
The Licensing Board shall revoke special Liquor Licenses if
the license holder falls into substantial arrears on any and all business
related tax obligations.
Except for the all-alcohol special liquor licenses for the Colonial
Theatre and the Downtown Movie Theatre Project, special liquor licenses
may be issued only to qualified downtown restaurants (QDR); the license
holder on behalf of said QDR shall be a natural person whose current
addresses and telephone numbers shall be on file with the Licensing
Board. Said license holder shall have a direct management role in
the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Special liquor licenses shall be issued without a purchase cost,
but the Licensing Board may charge an application fee calculated to
defray the Licensing Board's costs associated with processing the
application. Said licenses shall incur an annual fee of $1,500 more
than the annual fee of existing all-alcohol or beer and malt liquor
licenses, as applicable, in the City of Pittsfield.
[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
This article shall be construed liberally in favor of the responsible
development of restaurants in the Downtown Development Zone. This
article shall not change, amend, nor diminish the force of any City
ordinance or state or federal law.
[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
(a)
The Licensing Board shall maintain in one place at the City Clerk's
Office a data bank of existing liquor licenses and special liquor
licenses. This Data Bank shall include:
(1)
The identity, address, and business name of all premises licensed
to serve alcoholic beverages in the City of Pittsfield.
(2)
The type of licenses issued to said premises.
(3)
The name and address of the manager of said premises.
(4)
The identity and address of the person who may be contacted
concerning the potential sale or transfer of said licenses.
(5)
Notations as to whether the license holder has chosen to market
the license for sale and the listing price for the transfer of said
license, exclusive of other assets.
(b)
The Licensing Board shall, upon request of any member of the public,
promptly distribute the information contained in the data bank.
(c)
Upon enactment of this article, the Licensing Board shall mail a
copy of this article to each license holder.
(d)
Any license holder may, but shall not be so required to, give notice
to the Licensing Board of its intention to market its license pursuant
to this section. Said notice shall be in writing and shall contain
the information mentioned above. Said notice shall be fully revocable
(in writing) and shall not constitute an offer to sell or transfer.
[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
There shall be created, only by act or special act of the General
Court, a total of five all-alcohol liquor licenses and four special
beer and malt liquor licenses. Said licenses shall be controlled or
possessed by the Licensing Board, ad infinitum. The Licensing Board
may, subject to this article, issue a special liquor license to a
qualified downtown restaurant.
[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
A proposed QDR may apply for a special liquor license exclusively
through the application procedures set forth as follows:
(a)
The QDR shall review the Licensing Board's data bank for licenses listed for sale pursuant to § 11-49.
(b)
If the data bank lists a license for sale pursuant to § 11-49, the QDR shall first seek to purchase an existing license through the ordinary marketplace, by making a written offer to purchase a license so listed in the data bank, by certified mail to the license holder with a copy to the Licensing Board. Any such offer to purchase shall be a bona fide offer without extraordinary contingencies designed to undermine the offer. If, through no fault of the applicant QDR, there are no licenses for sale in the data bank, or a license cannot be obtained reasonably for a price less than or equal to $25,000 for an all-alcohol liquor license or $15,000 for a wine and malt liquor license (the threshold amount), then the QDR may apply for a special liquor license. The threshold amount may be changed by the City Council once every two years by a supermajority vote.
(c)
The QDR's application to the Licensing Board shall be in writing,
certified by the proposed license holder under oath, and shall contain
an affidavit demonstrating (incorporating relevant attachments):
(d)
The QDR shall present itself to the Licensing Board upon reasonable
notice, given no later than seven days before the Licensing Board's
meeting. At said meeting, the Licensing Board shall, in public, after
properly publishing notice of its agenda including reference to said
application of the QDR, determine whether:
(1)
The applicant meets the definitional requirements of this article
as a QDR;
(2)
The QDR is in fact to be located in the Downtown Development
Zone;
(3)
The QDR has complied with this article and its protocol and
procedures;
(4)
The QDR furthers the policies enunciated in the Preamble, and
(5)
The QDR meets the general requirements under law applicable
to any liquor license holder.
(e)
The Licensing Board shall report its findings (and recommendation,
if it so chooses) in writing to the City Clerk, who shall inform in
writing to the Mayor, City Council, Police Department, Fire Department,
Community Development Board, and Building Commissioner, with a copy
to the applicant QDR.
(f)
Upon issuance of said license, the Licensing Board shall assume all
of its usual enforcement and prudential powers. Additionally, if the
Licensing Board determines that the QDR has materially violated the
terms of this article, or the special liquor license, then the Licensing
Board may take all disciplinary action allowed by law, up to and including
revocation.
(g)
In the event of revocation, the special liquor license shall be returned
physically to the Licensing Board, and the Licensing Board shall retain
such special liquor license for future use consistent with this article.
[Ord. No. 973,
§ I, 12-13-2005]
This article shall take effect immediately upon passage. This
article shall be construed subject to and consistent with any such
act or special act.
