(a) Within five days after payment of the license fee for a public place of amusement license under this Article III, the department of business affairs and consumer protection shall cause a written notice to be sent to the alderman of the ward in which the premises described in the application is located, providing the information specified in Section 4-156-310 and the current telephone number of the applicant.
(b) Within five days after payment of the license fee, the department of business affairs and consumer protection shall serve written notice by first class, registered or certified mail on all legal voters residing within 250 feet of the location for which the license is sought. The measurement of such area shall be made from the boundaries of the premises described in the application for which the license is sought, to a radius of 250 feet away. The notice shall:
(1) identify the license being sought and state the name of the applicant;
(2) identify the address of the premises for which the license is sought;
(3) identify the date on which the license fee was paid; and
(4) advise the recipient that any legal voter residing within 250 feet of the location for which the license is sought may file an objection with the commissioner no later than 35 days after the date the license fee was paid, requesting the commissioner to deny the application on the grounds that the license would have an adverse effect on: (i) the value of the property in the surrounding area; (ii) other commercial or industrial enterprises in the surrounding area; (iii) traffic-flow or parking within the surrounding area; (iv) the character of the surrounding area because of the hours of operation or use; or (v) the health, safety or welfare of the surrounding area. The objection shall be in writing signed by the objector and include the objector's name and address and set forth the grounds for the objection.
(c) Within five days after payment of the license fee, the applicant shall cause to be posted at the location of the premises for which the license is sought, in a place clearly visible from the public way, a notice stating that an application has been made for a public place of amusement license, the date the license fee was paid, the name of the applicant and the street number and location of the premises covered by the application. The notice shall also include the language required by subsection (b)(1) – (4) of this section.
(d) (1) Any objection filed pursuant to subsection (b) shall be delivered to the department no later than 35 days after the date on which the license was paid and shall set forth the grounds for the objection.
(2) The commissioner shall review the application materials, including any objections. The review period for the application shall be no less than 35 days and no more than 90 days after the date the license fee was paid.
(3) (A) The commissioner shall deny an application if the commissioner finds that the approval of the application would give rise to any of the adverse effects set forth in subsection (b). When an application is denied under this subsection (d)(3)(A), the commissioner shall send a written notice to the applicant of the findings which are the basis of the denial and advise the applicant that the applicant may submit a plan of operation within 20 days of the notice. If the applicant submits a plan of operation within the 20-day period, the time for a final ruling on the application shall be extended until 35 days after the date the plan of operation was submitted. A plan of operation may include conditions upon the applicant's operation of the premises that are useful or necessary to mitigate the adverse effects, including but not limited to providing security personnel, restricted hours of operation, providing outdoor lighting, the display of signs, providing trash pickup services, or any other reasonable restrictions on business practices. It shall be a violation if a licensee fails to comply with all requirements of the approved written plan of operation and subject the licensee to a fine pursuant to Section 4-156-700, or license suspension or revocation.
(B) For any application for which the license fee is paid on or after March 13, 2013, in addition to any other grounds for denial of an application set forth in this section, the commissioner shall deny an application if the commissioner finds that within the two-year period prior to the date of the application, the premises identified in the application was identified in a prior application for a substantially similar business and the prior application was denied for a finding of an adverse effect on the surrounding area under this section or another similar provision; provided that the commissioner may approve an application if an applicant can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the issuance of the license will not have an adverse effect on the surrounding area. The commissioner shall send a written notice to the applicant of the findings which are the basis of the denial under this subsection and advise the applicant that the applicant may submit evidence that the issuance of the license will not have an adverse effect on the surrounding area within 20 days of the notice. The evidence may include, but is not limited to:
(i) a petition with the written support of a majority of the legal voters registered within a radius of 250 feet from the boundaries of the premises for which a license is sought;
(ii) a traffic study or traffic management plan which sets forth methods to mitigate any potential adverse effect on traffic flow or parking in the surrounding area; or
(iii) a plan of operation to mitigate any of the adverse effects on the surrounding area which the commissioner found was a basis for a denial pursuant to this section.
If the applicant submits the evidence that the issuance of the license will not have an adverse effect on the surrounding area within the 20-day period, the time for a final ruling on the application shall be extended until 35 days after the date the evidence was submitted.
(4) This section shall not limit the authority of the city or a department or agency of the city to seek denial of an application on the basis of other applicable law.
(Added Coun. J. 9-14-94, p. 56297; Amend Coun. J. 7-2-97, p. 48017; Amend Coun. J. 7-27-05, p. 53211, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-5-08, p. 43677, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 6-6-12, p. 28356, § 9; Amend Coun. J. 4-10-13, p. 51217, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 4-19-17, p. 48180, Art. V, § 10)