(a) If the chief of police denies the issuance of a Class E dance hall license to an applicant because the location of the Class E dance hall is in violation of Section 14-2.1 of this chapter, then the applicant may, not later than 10 calendar days after receiving notice of the denial, file with the city secretary a written request for an exemption from the locational restrictions of Section 14-2.1.
(b) If a written request is filed under Subsection (a) of this section with the city secretary within the 10- day limit, a permit and license appeal board, selected in accordance with Section 2-95 of this code, shall consider the request. The city secretary shall set a date for the hearing within 60 days from the date the written request is received.
(c) A hearing by the board may proceed if a quorum of the board is present. The board shall hear and consider evidence offered by any interested person. The formal rules of evidence do not apply.
(d) The permit and license appeal board shall grant an exemption from the locational restrictions of Section 14-2.1 for a Class E dance hall if it finds that:
(1) a physical barrier exists between the proposed dance hall and the business that serves or sells alcoholic beverages, such that the shortest distance in any direction that a person would have to physically travel from the nearest entry door in the part of the building used as the dance hall to the nearest entry door in the part of the building used as the business that serves or sells alcoholic beverages is not less than 1,000 feet;
(2) the character of the neighborhood surrounding the proposed dance hall is conducive to youth programs and activities and contains other uses that promote positive youth development;
(3) the public safety record for the premises of the proposed dance hall and the surrounding businesses, including any business that serves or sells alcoholic beverages, indicates that the area is reasonably safe for persons from age 14 through age 18;
(4) the location of the Class E dance hall in the area will not be contrary to any program of neighborhood conservation or development; and
(5) all other applicable provisions of this chapter will be observed.
(e) The board shall grant or deny the exemption by majority vote. Failure to reach a majority vote will result in denial of the exemption. Any dispute of fact must be decided on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence. The decision of the permit and license appeal board is final.
(f) If the board grants the exemption, the exemption is valid for one year from the date of the board’s action. Upon the expiration of an exemption, a Class E dance hall is in violation of the locational restrictions of Section 14-2.1 until the applicant applies for and receives another exemption.
(g) If the board denies the exemption, the applicant may not re-apply for an exemption until at least 12 months have elapsed since the date of the board’s action.
(h) The grant of an exemption for a Class E dance hall does not exempt the applicant from any provision of this chapter other than the locational restrictions of Section 14-2.1. (Ord. Nos. 22416; 23137; 24440; 25002)