5.04.010 Purpose and Definitions.

The purpose of this Chapter is to set forth those procedures and policies involving liquor license applications that are specific to unincorporated Pueblo County.  Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as limiting the power of the Local Licensing Authority under Article 47 of Title 12 or under any other state or local law.  As used in this Chapter, the term “Director” means the Director of the Department of Planning and Development or his or her designee. (Res. 16-192)

5.04.020 Temporary Permits.

A.         Application.  The Director is authorized to issue on behalf of and under the authority of the Liquor and Marijuana Licensing Board a temporary permit to a transferee of any class of beer or liquor license pursuant to Section 12-47-303, C.R.S., which temporary permit shall authorize the transferee to continue selling such fermented malt or alcoholic beverages as permitted under the permanent license during the period during which an application to transfer the ownership of the permanent license is pending or for one hundred twenty (120) days, whichever is lesser.  No application for a temporary permit may be accepted until after the Director has accepted the related application for transfer of ownership and determined that the related application is complete and accompanied by payment for all state and local fees.

B.         Issuance.  Within five working days of accepting a complete application for a temporary permit together with the applicable fee, the Director shall issue a temporary permit to the transferee.  

C.         Extension.  The authority to grant any extensions of a temporary permit issued hereunder or any actions involving the cancellation, revocation, or suspension of the permit shall remain with the Liquor and Marijuana Licensing Board. (Res.16-192)

5.04.030 Optional Premises Licenses and Permits.

A.         Standards Adopted – Definitions.  This Section sets forth and adopts standards for the issuance of optional premises licenses and optional premises permits for hotel and restaurant licenses pursuant to the provisions of Section 12-47-310, C.R.S., as amended.  The standards set forth in this section shall be considered in addition to all other standards applicable to the issuance of optional premises licenses and permits under the Colorado Liquor Code.  As used in this Section, the term “optional premises permit” shall mean a permit for an optional premises associated with a hotel and restaurant license where the licensee may sell or serve alcohol beverages. 

B.         Eligible Facilities.  An optional premises license or permit may only be issued to a person operating an outdoor sports and recreational facility as the same is defined in Section 12-47-103(22)(a), C.R.S.  The types of facilities which may be considered for an optional premises license or permit include, but are not limited to, the following:

            1.         Country clubs;

            2.         Golf courses and driving ranges;

            3.         Ice skating areas;

            4.         Swimming pools;

            5.         Outdoor tennis courts and clubs; and

            6.         Equestrian centers. 

Facilities other than those set forth above may be considered for an optional premises license or permit subject to the standards contained in this Chapter and the Colorado Liquor Code.  There is no restriction on the minimum or maximum size of an eligible facility or on the number of optional premises any one facility may have, but the size of the facility and number of optional premises may be considered in determining whether the applicant has adequately established that the application should be approved.  Where an applicant seeks to license or permit more than one optional premises, the applicant must demonstrate the need for multiple premises and describe the operational relationship among all optional premises and, if applicable, between each optional premises and the associated hotel or restaurant.

C.         Application Requirements.  In addition to any other requirement imposed by this Chapter or by the Colorado Liquor Code, the following application requirements apply to an applicant seeking an optional premises license or permit:

1.         A map, diagram, or other drawing demonstrating the boundaries of the outdoor sports and recreational facility and the boundaries of existing and proposed optional premises  within the facility;

2.         In the case of an application for a optional premises permit, a map, diagram, or other drawing demonstrating the boundaries of the existing or proposed licensed premise for the associated hotel and restaurant license and clearly showing how that licensed  premise connects with the related outdoor sports and recreational facility;

3.         A description of the method which shall be used to identify the boundaries of the optional premises when it is in use, as well as a description of the method which will be used to identify and control the optional premises when it is in use.  For example,   the applicant may describe the types of signs, fencing or other notices or barriers to     be used in order to control the optional premises;

4.         In the case of an application for an optional premises permit, a description of the operational relationship between the hotel or restaurant and the optional premises;

5.         A description of the provisions which have been made for storing malt, vinous and spirituous liquors in a secured area on or off the optional premises for future use on the   optional premises; and

6.         In the case of an application for multiple optional premises, a description of the operational relationship among all optional premises and the reason why multiple optional premises are being sought.

D.         Advance Notification.  Pursuant to Section 12-47-310(3) and (4), C.R.S., no alcoholic beverages may be served on an optional premises without the licensee first having provided written notice to the state and local liquor licensing authorities at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to serving alcoholic beverages on the optional premises. The notice must contain the specific days and hours during which the optional premise is to be used and may specify any date of use which is no more than one hundred eighty (180) days from the notice date.  All notices directed to Liquor and Marijuana Licensing Board shall be provided to the Director and must be received during working hours at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the serving of alcoholic beverages on the optional premises. 

E.         Hearings – Specific Standards – Orders.  Any application for an optional premises license or permit may only be approved after a public hearing held in conformance with C.R.S. § 12-47-311, except that a hearing on an application for an optional premises permit may be heard as part of a hearing for the related hotel and restaurant license.  In addition to any other standards imposed by this Chapter or the Colorado Liquor Code, the Liquor and Marijuana Licensing Board must find that the application for the optional premises license or permit contains the information required by subsection D. above and that applicant has established that it will maintain adequate control over all optional premises to be licensed or permitted and operate those premises in strict compliance with all applicable provisions of this Chapter and the Colorado Liquor Code.  In the case of an application for multiple optional premises, the applicant must meet this burden with respect to each optional premises and establish that there is a rational basis for seeking multiple optional premises.  If the applicant has not met this burden, the Liquor and Marijuana Licensing Board may deny the application or approve it with conditions.  All orders approving an application for an optional premises license or permit shall be available for inspection at each optional premises location when it is in use.  (Res. 16-192)

5.04.040 Tasting Permits.

A.         Definition.  As used in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, tastings means the sampling of malt or vinous liquors that may occur on the premises of a retail liquor store licensee or liquor-licensed drugstore licensee by adult patrons of the licensee.

B.         Application.  A retail liquor store or liquor-licensed drugstore licensee desiring to conduct alcohol beverage tastings must submit, together with the applicable fees, a new application for a permit or a renewal application in accordance with the requirement of this section.  An application for alcohol beverage tastings permit must be submitted to the local liquor licensing authority no later than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the first alcohol beverage tastings requested in application, or at the time of license renewal, whichever occurs first.  At a minimum, the application must include the following information:

1.     The name of the licensee and location of the premises of the retail liquor store or liquor-  licensed drugstore;

2.     Schedule of the specific dates and times of requested alcohol beverage tastings for the    period of the permit.  Following approval of a tastings permit and the tastings schedule  by the local liquor licensing authority, the licensee may amend such schedule by    delivering to the local liquor licensing authority, at least fourteen (14) days prior to an unscheduled event, a notice of amendment of the approved schedule;

3.     A copy of a certificate of training for individuals who will conduct beverage tastings; and

4.     Any other information requested by the local liquor licensing authority reasonably  necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this resolution and with C.R.S. § 12-47-301(10), as amended.

C.         Decision on Application.  The local licensing authority shall hold a hearing on a new application for a tastings permit.  The authority may deny an application for issuance of an alcohol beverage tastings permit upon the following grounds:

1.     The applicant has failed to establish that the applicant is able to conduct alcohol   beverage tastings in compliance with this resolution or with C.R.S. § 12-47-301(10), as amended;

2.     The alcohol beverage tastings requested by applicant creates, or threatens to create, a  public safety risk to the neighborhood; or

3.     The Licensee has violated the Colorado Liquor Code or any rules and regulations authorized pursuant to such code during the one (1) year immediately preceding the date of the application.

D.         Permits once issued.  An alcohol beverage tastings permit shall be valid for the period of the then-existing liquor license, and the permit may be renewed at the time of any liquor license renewal.  If, upon considering the renewal of a permit, the authority believes there may be grounds to not renew, it shall set the matter for a hearing at its next meeting.  The licensee must submit a tastings renewal application and fee along with the application for the renewal of the license.  Alcohol beverage tastings shall be conducted in compliance with and subject to the conditions and requirements set forth in this Section and C.R.S. § 12-47-301(10), as amended. (Res. 16-192)

5.04.050 Fees.

A.            Local Fees.  At the time of application, applicants shall provide to Pueblo County payment for all applicable local fees.  Unless stated otherwise in this Section, the Board of County Commissioners adopts as Pueblo County’s local fees for liquor licenses, permits, and applications, and related fees, the amounts required, or maximum amounts permitted, as the case may be, under C.R.S. § 12-46-107(2), § 12-47-302(2)(a), -303(3)(c), 411(12), -412(8), -505(1), (4), (5), § 12-48-107(2), and any other relevant provision, as reflected in the local fees listed in the Colorado Liquor Enforcement Fee Schedule, as amended.  The fee for a new and renewal application for a tasting permit shall be seventy-five dollars ($75.00) as authorized by C.R.S. § 12-47-301(10)(b).

B.            State Fees.  At the time of application, applicants shall provide to Pueblo County payment to the Colorado Department of Revenue for those state fees to be paid to the Department pursuant to C.R.S. § 12-47-501, -505(3), or any other provision, as reflected in the state fees listed in the Colorado Liquor Enforcement Fee Schedule, as amended.  Pueblo County shall forward payment for state fees to the Colorado Department of Revenue.  Nothing in this Section shall be construed as modifying, approving, or having any effect on the status or applicability of state fees.

C.            Fee Schedule.  A copy of, or web link to, the current Colorado Liquor Enforcement Fee Schedule and this Section shall be posted conspicuously on the Pueblo County website. (Res. 16-192)

5.04.060 Neighborhood Designation.

Upon receipt of an application for which the consideration of the needs and desires of a neighborhood is required, the Director of the Pueblo County Department of Planning and Development, or his or her designee, shall set a designated neighborhood of the proposed licensed establishment.  The neighborhood is presumed to be the area within a two-mile radius from the center point of the property on which the proposed licensed establishment is or will be located.  After reviewing a map of a two-mile radius and the estimated number of inhabitants within that radius, the Director shall consider whether the presumptive neighborhood should be applied.  The area’s population density, its traffic patterns, the configuration of streets, highways, natural features, and any other factors related to the neighborhood designation may be considered.  In no case shall a designated neighborhood be smaller than a one and one-half mile radius or contain fewer than what the Director estimates to be one hundred fifty inhabitants who are twenty-one years of age or older.  If the Director determines that the presumptive neighborhood should not or cannot be used, a modified neighborhood shall be set.  The Director’s decision shall be in writing and shall briefly explain why the presumptive neighborhood is appropriate or, if not, how the modified neighborhood was designated.  The decision and a map of the designated neighborhood shall be provided to the applicant and to the Board. (Res. 16-192)

5.04.070 Preliminary Investigation.

The Director of the Pueblo County Department of Planning and Development, or his or her designee, shall be responsible for conducting the preliminary investigation and releasing the findings of such investigation as required under C.R.S. § 12-47-312(1).  (Res. 16-192)

5.04.080 Application Requirements.

All applications submitted under articles 46, 47 or 48 of title 12, Colorado Revised Statutes, must be submitted along with applicable fees and required documents in support of the application, including proof of possession.  The Director may reject any incomplete application.  In the event it is determined that additional information must be provided to staff to complete or clarify an application, the Director shall notify the applicant in writing and the applicant shall promptly provide all requested information.  In the event the applicant does not provide such information within ten days from the date of the written request, the Director may reject and return the application as incomplete, requiring the applicant to apply again.  In the event an applicant for a new liquor license seeks to operate in a location that is not yet ready for occupancy, the Board may require, as a condition of approval, that the applicant finalize construction and secure a certificate of occupancy within a reasonable time from the date of approval. (Res. 17-151)