Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/12/2015

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October 10, 2015 ( Volume 9 l Issue 19 Zoning Bulletin Validity of Zoning Decision/ Nonconforming Use—Convenience store seeks to authorization to sell high -alcohol content beverages City denies request, saying it is an impermissible expansion of its sale of low - alcohol content pursuant to a nonconforming use status Citation: Mannino's P & M Texaco Service Center, Inc. v. City of New Orleans, 2015-109 La. App. 4 Cir. 8/19/15, 2015 WL 4965885 (La. Ct. App. 4th Cir. 2015) The Fourth U.S. Circuit has jurisdiction over Maryland, North Caro- lina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. LOUISIANA (08/19/15)—This case addressed the issue of whether a board of zoning appeals acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying au- thorization to sell high -alcohol content beverages to a convenience store that had previously sold low -alcohol content beverages pursuant to a nonconforming use status. More specifically, the case addressed whether the sale of high -alcohol content beverages differed in nature, purpose, or character from the sale of low -alcohol content beverages such that the ad- dition of high -alcohol sales to a store that sold low -alcohol content bever- ages as a nonconforming use would constitute an impermissible intensifi- cation of the nonconforming use. The Background/Facts: Mannino's P & M Texaco Service Center, Inc. ("Mannino's") operated a gas station and convenience store in New Orleans in a historic commercial district ("HMC -2"). For many years, Mannino's sold low -content alcohol (i.e., beer) pursuant to a legal nonconforming use status. Mannino's sought to expand its sales to include high -alcohol content beverages. The City's Department of Safety and Permits (the "Department") found that pursuant to the City's zoning ordinance, Mannino's business, located in the HMC -2 district was required to have at least 5,000 square feet of floor area in order to sell high -alcohol content beverages. Mannino's busi- ness had less than 2,000 square feet of floor area. The Department also determined that Mannino's enjoyed "legal, non -conforming status as to low -content alcohol sales and that this nonconforming [status] [could] not be expanded to include high -content alcohol." The Department differenti- ated the types of alcohol license for which a location can be considered legally nonconforming. The Department concluded that it could not ap- prove Marino's request for high -alcohol content beverage sales because 10 ©2015 Thomson Reuters