The Great American Nano Festival, August 25th & 26th

We were recently contacted by a Buckman business neighbor – the Rogue brewery and their Green Dragon brewpub – about an upcoming event that benefits Buckman Elementary School. Read on for details:

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The 5th Annual Great American Nano Festival

August 25-26, 2012
Sat Noon – 9pm, Sun Noon – 7pm

Cost: $10 at the door; includes 5 taster tickets (additional taster tickets are $1 each)

Location: Buckman Botanical Brewery
SE 9th & Belmont
Portland, OR 97214

Taste over 25 different Nano Breweries. Enjoy Koi Fushion and Voodoo Doughnuts. Sample local artisan cheese, meats, and chocolate. Enjoy Bung Hole, Corn Hole, Buckman Brewery tours, street basketball, and dog washes.

This is a family friendly festival with proceeds benefiting Buckman Elementary School for the Arts.

http://rogue.com/events/nano_fest.php

 

City Proposes Ban on Food Cart Liquor Licenses

We recently learned that the city of Portland has petitioned the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) to disallow the issuing of liquor licenses to food carts. Here’s the text of the notification that we received from the OLCC:

OREGON LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION

The Commission has received a petition for rulemaking requesting amendment of the following administrative rule:

OAR 845-005-0331 Licensing Exterior Areas

HOW TO COMMENT

If you want to comment on the petition, please write to:

Oregon Liquor Control Commission
9079 SE McLoughlin Boulevard
Portland, OR 97222
ATTENTION: Jennifer Huntsman
Email: jennifer.huntsman@state.or.us
Fax: (503) 872-5110

The Commission has received a petition requesting the amendment of OAR 845-005-0331 Licensing Exterior Areas. The petitioner is the City of Portland. The petitioner requests to amend this rule by adding a new section (6) regarding licensed premises that are exclusively outdoors. The proposed language would prohibit issuing an annual license to such a premises, but would allow for the issuance of a temporary sales license.

A copy of the petition may be obtained by contacting Jennifer Huntsman, Rules Coordinator at 503-872-5004. The petition is also viewable on the OLCC web site: http://oregon.gov/OLCC. Go to the Laws and Rules button, then follow the link to “Current Petitions Received”. For questions, you may contact Jennifer Huntsman, Rules Coordinator, by email (address above) or call (503) 872-5004 (or toll free within Oregon: 1-800-452-6522).

“If a petition requests the amendment or repeal of a rule, before denying a petition, the agency must invite public comment upon the rule, including whether options exist for achieving the rule’s substantive goals in a way that reduces the negative economic impact on business.” (OAR 137-001- 0070)

This notice is OLCC’s invitation for public comment on the petition, including comment on whether options exist for achieving the rule’s substantive goals in a way that reduces negative economic impact on business. You may email, fax or mail your comments, but all comment for the record must be in writing.

**Written public comment must be received by 5:00 pm on May 11, 2012**

 

Liquor License Renewals South of Burnside

We recently received an e-mail from the city about the upcoming expiration and renewal of all liquor licenses for establishments south of Burnside. This is your opportunity to provide input to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). Read on for details.

Liquor License Renewal – South of Burnside

All liquor licenses South of Burnside within the Portland City Limits (East &West) will expire on July 1st, 2012, unless renewed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). As part of the renewal process, the City of Portland makes recommendations to the OLCC on renewal applications using information gathered from neighbors, community organizations, and public safety officials. The City of Portland is home to approximately 2,900 liquor license establishments, about half of which are coming up for renewal. Neighbors, Neighborhood and Business Associations, and Community Organizations have a very important role in this process.

The annual renewal is an opportunity for communities to address problems or concerns with licensed establishments in their neighborhoods. Concerned neighbors and community organizations wishing to oppose a license renewal south of Burnside should advise the Office of Neighborhood Involvement as soon as possible. Licensed establishments not identified by the City of Portland as problems are processed as though they received a “favorable” recommendation.  Opposition received by individuals and organizations is considered by the City before a recommendation is made to the OLCC. If neighbors have concerns but do not wish to formally oppose the license renewal, this is an excellent opportunity to engage in problem solving to address concerns informally.

Information about liquor establishments with ongoing problems must be received by May 15th, 2012.

Please contact Theresa Marchetti, City of Portland Liquor License Specialist, at 503-823-3092 or theresa.marchetti@portlandoregon.gov.

City Council Meeting on Proposed Changes to Time Place and Manner Regulations

Sorry for the late notice on this one, but we wanted to let you know that this Wednesday, September 7th, the Portland City Council will be discussing proposed changes to the city’s Time, Place and Manner regulations. These regulations provide avenue for neighbors and local enforcement agencies to address licensed liquor establishments that pose problems to the surrounding neighborhood. Read on for details.

August 24, 2011

CONTACT: Theresa Marchetti, Liquor Program Specialist

Office of Neighborhood Involvement
503-823-3092 (ph), 503-823-3050 (fx)
Theresa.Marchetti@portlandoregon.gov

PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL AGENDA:
Proposed Changes to City Code Time Place and Manner Regulations of Alcohol Licensed Establishments (PCC 14B.120)

What: Portland City Council will hear presentation and testimony regarding proposed changes to local regulations of liquor licensed establishments.

When: September 7th, 2011 – 2pm

Where: City Hall – Council Chambers – 2nd Floor
1221 SW 4th Ave, Portland OR 97204

Why:
The Office of Neighborhood Involvement Liquor Licensing, overseen by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, will be proposing changes to the city code that allows local regulation of liquor licensed establishments. Enacted in 2004 as an avenue for neighbors and local enforcement agencies to address problem establishments, the Time Place and Manner code has been effective in addressing many livability and public safety issues that arise out of the sale of alcohol. The goal is to work with the licensee to address the issues before they become egregious.  However, there are several areas that the City’s authority is insufficient to address problems. The proposed changes will expand the authority slightly to allow:

• Drug activity, prostitution, and incidents involving death or the risk of death to be considered nuisance activities for the purpose of this code
• A violation and abatement process if three nuisance incidents occur in 60 days (rather than 30 days currently allowed)
• A violation and abatement process in the event that a single serious incident occurs at an establishment

The proposed changes have been reviewed and supported by the Time Place and Manner Oversight Committee, which includes community and industry representation. Two public hearings were held in the summer of 2011 in which the City of Portland accepted both verbal and written feedback. Changes to the language were made based on the feedback received.

Time Place and Manner is a reasonable process to a responsive licensee and has been effective in mitigating harm. These changes will help to better serve the communities of Portland, and ensure that licensed establishments do not act irresponsibly or negligently at the cost of the community. It will also allow the City of Portland to take intervening steps with a premise earlier and avoid more serious problems from occurring. This is the only avenue to address problems at licensed establishments at the local level. All other regulatory authority is held by the state Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

The proposed changes are viewable online at http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?c=32419&a=362076.

Public Hearing on Proposed Changes to Bar Regulations

We recently received a notice about an upcoming public hearing to discuss proposed changes to the city’s regulations of liquor licensed establishments. The text of the announcement is below:

For Immediate Release
June 16, 2011

CONTACT:
Theresa Marchetti, Liquor Program Specialist
Office of Neighborhood Involvement
503-823-3092 (ph), 503-823-3050 (fx)
Theresa.Marchetti@portlandoregon.gov

PUBLIC MEETING:
Proposed Changes to City Code Time Place and Manner Regulations of Alcohol Licensed Establishments (PCC 14B.120)

What: Community members are invited to a public meeting to learn about the proposed changes to local regulations of liquor licensed establishments, ask questions and submit testimony or comments. Comments may also be submitted in writing to the contact above.
When: June 28th, 2011 at 6pm
Where: Portland Building, Room C, 1120 SW 5th Ave Portland, OR 97204
Why: The City of Portland will be proposing changes to the city code that allows local regulation of liquor licensed establishments and is seeking comments from community members. Enacted as an avenue for neighbors and local enforcement agencies to address problem establishments, the Time Place and Manner code has been effective in addressing many livability and public safety issues that arise out of the sale of alcohol. The goal is to work with the licensee to address the issues before they become egregious.  However, there are several areas that the City’s authority is insufficient to address problems. The proposed changes will expand the authority slightly to allow:

• Drug activity, prostitution, overcrowding, and serious incidents involving death or the risk of death to be considered nuisance activities for the purpose of this code.
• A violation and abatement process if three nuisance incidents occur in 60 days (rather than 30 days currently allowed).
• A violation and abatement process in the event that a serious incident occurs at an establishment.

The proposed changes have been reviewed and supported by the Time Place and Manner Oversight Committee, which includes community and industry representation. Time Place and Manner is a reasonable process to a responsive licensee and has been effective in mitigating harm. These changes will help to better serve the communities of Portland, and ensure that licensed establishments do not act irresponsibly or negligently at the cost of the community. It will also allow the City of Portland to take intervening steps with a premise earlier and avoid more serious problems from occurring. This is the only avenue to address problems at licensed establishments at the local level. All other regulatory authority is held by the state Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

The proposed changes are viewable online at http://www.portlandonline.com/oni. A second meeting will be held in July as well. If you would like to hear more, or would like to comment on the proposed changes please attend the public meeting or contact Theresa Marchetti.

Theresa Marchetti
Liquor Licensing Specialist – ONI
1221 SW 4th Ave Ste 110
Portland OR 97204
503-823-3092
theresa.marchetti@portlandoregon.gov
To view applications currently in process go to http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?&c=48007

Liquor License Application: Liberty Trade Ventures

On Tuesday, June 7th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. This establishment is not a retail sales location.  As such, this was simply a courtesy notice and does not need to be responded to.

Establishment: Liberty Trade Ventures

License type: Applied for a distillery license, which allows the holder to import, manufacture, distill, rectify, blend, denature and store distilled spirits.  A distillery that produces brandy or pot-distilled liquor may permit tastings by visitors.

Address: 306 SE Ash Street

Seating capacity: N/A

Entertainment: N/A

Menu: N/A

Hours: Not open to the public

Liquor License Application: Base Camp Brewing Company

On Wednesday, June 1st, the BCA received a liquor license application for a restaurant in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa(dot)marchetti(at)ci(dot)portland(dot)or(dot)us or at (503) 823-3092, by July 1st, 2011.

Establishment: Base Camp Brewing Company

Address: 922-930 SE Oak

License type: Applied under new ownership for a Brewery Public House Liquor License, which allows the manufacture and sale of malt beverages to wholesalers, and the sale of malt beverages, wine and cider for consumption on and off the premises.

Seating capacity: 64; Outside seating (52) until closing (11:00pm)

Entertainment: Recorded background music and live music

Menu: Appetizers and five meals

Hours: 11:00am-11:00pm 7 days a week

Liquor License Application: Rose City Self-Storage & Wine Vaults

On Monday, May 23rd, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. This establishment is not a retail sales location.  As such, this was simply a courtesy notice and does not need to be responded to.

Establishment: Rose City Self-Storage & Wine Vaults

License type: Applied for a warehouse sales license which allows the storage and distribution of beer/wine/cider in sealed containers for delivery

Address: 111 SE Belmont

Seating capacity: N/A

Entertainment: N/A

Menu: N/A

Hours: 8:00am-6:00pm 7 days per week

Liquor License Application: The Melody Ballroom

On Thursday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo!), the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa.marchetti(at)portlandoregon(dot)com or at (503) 823-3092, by June 4th, 2011.

Establishment: The Melody Ballroom

License Type: Applied under a change of ownership to maintain the Full On premises sales license (which allows the sale of liquor, malt beverages, wine and cider for consumption on the premises)

Address: 615 SE Alder

Seating capacity: Event driven; outside seating (event driven)

Entertainment: Live music, DJ, dancing, karaoke, social gaming

Menu: From appetizers to full fare

Hours: 8:00am-12:00am, 7 days a week (event driven)

Liquor License Application: Fausse Piste

On Wednesday, April 27th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa.marchetti(at)portlandoregon(dot)com or at (503) 823-3092, by May 27th, 2011.

Establishment: Fausse Piste

License Type: Applied for a winery sales license, which allows the sale and distribution of wine off-premises

Address: 537 SE Ash Street #102

Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 5:00pm-10:00pm

Additional information provided by applicant: Occasional wine tastings and special events will be held outside of the normal days & hours of operation listed above. Generally not open Monday-Wednesday.

Liquor License Application: Nirvana Café

On Friday, March 11th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at Theresa.Marchetti(at)ci.portland.or.us or at (503) 823-3092, by April 10th, 2011.

Establishment: Nirvana Cafe

License Type: Applied under new ownership for a Limited On-Premises sales license (which allows the sale of malt beverages, wine and cider for consumption on the premises).

Address: 510 SE Morrison Street

Seating capacity: 46; 36 indoor, 10 outdoor

Entertainment: Recorded Music, Live Music, DJ Music, Dancing

Menu: Middle Eastern

Hours: Sunday, Closed; Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm; Saturday, 9am – 3pm

Liquor License Application: Roost

On Thursday, February 10th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa.marchetti(at)portlandoregon(dot)com or at (503) 823-3092, by March 10th, 2011.

Establishment: Roost

License Type: Applied for Greater Privilege to a Full On-Premises sales license (which allows the sale of liquor, malt beverages, wine and cider for consumption on the premises).

Address: 1403 SE Belmont

Hours of Operation: 7 days a week, 5pm – 10pm

Entertainment/Food: Full menu (brunch & dinner)

Seating Capacity: 50; Outside seating (8) until 9:00pm, weather permitting

 

Liquor License Application: Enso Winery

On Friday, February 4th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa.marchetti(at)portlandoregon(dot)com or at (503) 823-3092, by March 5th, 2011.

Establishment: Enso Winery

License Type: Filed a Change of Location application for a change of primary location Winery Sales license. A Winery Sales license allows the sale and distribution of wine off-premises.

Address: 1416 SE Stark Street

Hours of Operation: 12:00pm-10:00pm, 7 days a week

Entertainment/Food: N/A

Liquor License Application: Rochelois

On Wednesday, January 19th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa.marchetti(at)portlandoregon(dot)com or at (503) 823-3092, by February 17th, 2011.

Establishment: Rochelois

License Type: Applied for a Wholesale Warehouse sales license, which allows the sale and distribution of malt beverages and wine off premises.

Address: 111 SE Belmont Street

Hours of Operation: Not open to the public

Entertainment/Food: N/A

Liquor License Application: Copacabana

On Friday, November 12th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at Theresa.Marchetti(at)ci.portland.or.us or at (503) 823-3092, by December 12, 2010.

Establishment: Cobacabana

License Type: Applied under new ownership for a Full On-premises sales license, which allows the sale of liquor, malt beverages, wine and cider for consumption on the premises.

Address: 17 SE 8th Avenue

Hours of Operation: Friday & Saturday, 10:00PM-2:00AM. Not open Sunday-Thurdsay.

Entertainment: Instructing, dancing, DJ’s & live music

Food: No

Liquor License Application: Zancanella Importing Company

This is the first in what will be a regular new feature on the BCA blog. From time to time, the BCA receives notices from the city about OLCC liquor license applications in the Buckman neighborhood. When we do, we’ll post the details here, so you know about proposed new establishments in our neighborhood.

Establishment: Zancanella Importing Company

License Type: Distillery License; allows the holder to import, manufacture, distill, rectify, blend, denature and store distilled spirits. A distillery that produces brandy or pot-distilled liquor may permit tastings by visitors.

Notes: This applicant already holds a Wholesale Malt Beer and Wine License. They are applying for the additional privilege of a Distillery License. This is not a retail sales location.

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm

Additional information provided by applicant: We are an existing wholesale distributor applying for “additional privileges” to become “vendor of record” for an existing product in the marketplace.

Liquor License Application: Duke’s Landing

The OLCC received an application for a Full On-Premises Commercial license at the following address:

Duke’s Landing [Sandy Cover Foods Inc.]
2715 SE Belmont
Portland, OR 97214

The license allows a licensee to sell wine containing not more than 21% alcohol by volume, malt beverages containing not more than 14% alcohol by volume, cider containing not more than 10% alcohol by volume and distilled spirits by the drink to patrons on the premises.

The license allows any form of legal entertainment. The legal hours to sell alcohol in the state of Oregon are 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily. The applicant’s proposed hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., 7 days per week.

The applicant will have food service consistent with OLCC regulations.

The applicant proposes to have live music, DJ’s, Karaoke, Coin-Operated Games, Video Lottery, Social Gaming, and Pool Tables.

If you wish to provide the Commission with factual information concerning whether there is a basis to grant or deny this license under the OLCC’s licensing standards, please write the OLCC at the following address:

OLCC
c/o Eric Hildebrand, License Investigator
P.O. Box 22297
Milwaukie, OR 97269-2297

or contact via Mr. Hildebrand via phone at 503.872.5197 or contact the Buckman Community Association.

Responses are requested by July 26th so the OLCC can process this application in a timely manner. The OLCC will share your information with the applicant, make it a part of the public record and consider it when making a final decision.

Reflections On Liquor Licensing Forum

I attended the Liquor Licensing Public Forum on June 29th at the Portland Building. The forum was comprised of a panel of folks from the OLCC and various city departments, taking questions from the audience about liquor licensing issues. As you might imagine, it was a rather fiesty event. Though the number of attendees was not large (in the range of 20-30), many in the crowd were quite vocal. There were a few people there who had clearly expended a fair amount of time and energy dealing with licensing issues in their neighborhood. It seemed to be the consensus among these people that the OLCC was effectively (as one attendee put it) a “rubber stamp regime”. The response the came back from the stage was that the OLCC are regulators, and in most cases, their hands are tied by the laws against which they must regulate. They urged citizens to talk to their legislators if they feel there are holes in the statutes.

For example, one of the big topics of conversation was saturation; e.g., licenses being given out for a preponderance of establishments in a relatively small area. There were several folks there from Hayden Island for whom this was a particularly hot topic. They claim that, on an island with a population of 2200 people, there are currently 22 bars. The OLCC’s response was that, while the statutes did once include a saturation clause, that was taken out some time ago. The OLCC can now not take this sort of thing into account when deciding on licenses. The representatives from the OLCC urged people to take this issue up with their legislators. Their message was, “help give us the tools to fight on your behalf”.

However, many in the crowd seemed to feel that the OLCC actually has more leeway and discretion than was being communicated. Some expressed frustration at the apparent disconnect between the OLCC’s own mission statement – which talks about protecting things like “neighborhood livability” – and what sorts of things the OLCC is willing/able to regulate.

I was somewhat surprised by the level of frustration and passion I saw on display last night, which went beyond anything I’ve personally encountered in my two years trying to fill the role of Liquor Committee. It occurred to me that one of the difficult things about these kinds of issues is that, in some cases, the people fighting them must feel really alone. For example, there was a young couple there that own a house next to a bar with an outdoor patio. They’ve lived next to the bar for about 7 years, but the patio is a more recent development (about 2 years ago). They received no notice that the bar had filed for an Extension of Premises on their license; their first notice was when construction started on the patio. Since then, they’ve been fighting to do something about it, and have gone as far as to retain a lawyer. Their frustration was evident; in the meantime, people living a block away may feel little or no impact from the situation.

The evening made me think about the role of neighborhood association Liquor Committee. It’s never been entirely clear to me what neighborhood associations can do to best address or head off situations like the kind that were brought up last night…..

Eric O’Connor

BCA Board Member