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BACKGROUND INFORMATION <br /> <br />During the municipal liquor store divestiture process, the City <br />Council instructed Staff to review alternatives for issuing off-sale <br />liquor licenses and report back to the City Council with options. To <br />that end, Staff has conducted a survey of the licensing provisions of <br />other municipalities and has met with current and potential liquor <br />licensees in order to gather additional information. <br /> <br />Municipal SurveI <br /> <br />Attachment A provides the results of a telephone survey conducted in <br />December 1987 of 19 Minnesota municipalities. The results indicate <br />that: <br /> <br />7 cities limit <br />Stores. <br /> <br />4 cities have no <br />stores permitted <br /> <br /> licenses ex'clusively to municipal liquor <br /> <br />restrictions on the number and type'of liquor <br />in their community. <br /> <br />5 cities limit the number of licenses to population ratios. <br />For example, Brooklyn Park allows no more than 1 license per <br />4,000 population. <br /> <br />2 communities limit the minimum allowable distance between <br />stores. Burnsville and Blaine, for example, require a minimum <br />distance between liquor establishments of one mile. <br /> <br />Attachment A also reviews state and national averages for Liquor store <br />and ~ ~-~' ' ' ' _ for off-sale establish- <br /> oopu~=~on ratios. The statew~ae, average <br />ments is approximately one store per 5,000 population. <br /> <br />State Statutes <br /> <br />State statutes prohibit cities of the fiJst class (Minneapolis, St. <br />Paul and Duluth) from allowing more than one license per 5,000 popu!a- <br />nion. Ail o~her Minnesota cities can establish their individual <br />limits and criteria as they desire. Minnesota court .decisions have <br />also granted municioa!ities very broad '{ - '{ -~' ' <br /> . . a. sc_e..on=_y authority in <br />!icuo'r licensing matters. The Minnesota courts upheld the !icuor <br />ordinance of the Ciny of Royalton, which chose three as the maximum <br />number of off-sale licenses in would issue, justified solely on the <br />basis that three was their preference. <br /> <br />Meetin? with Current License Holders <br /> <br />On January 7, 1988, Finance Director Lyle Haney and Management Analyst <br />Lee Mehrkens met with current license holders to get their input on <br />ways to approach the licensing issue. Not surprisingly, the current <br />licensees favored limiting the number of licenses to two in order uo <br />protec~ their invesument. <br /> <br />-4- <br /> <br /> <br />