(A) A license shall be purely a personal privilege, good for not to exceed 1 year after issuance unless sooner revoked as provided in this chapter, and shall not constitute property, nor shall it be subject to attachment, garnishment or execution, nor shall it be alienable or transferable, voluntarily or involuntarily, or subject to being encumbered or hypothecated. Except as provided in division (B) of this section, such license shall not descend by the laws of testate or intestate devolution, but shall cease upon the death of the licensee; provided, however, that executors or administrators of the estate of any deceased licensee, and the trustee of any insolvent or bankrupt licensee, when such estate consists in part of alcoholic liquor under order of the appropriate court, may exercise the privileges of the deceased or insolvent or bankrupt's license after the death of such descendent, or such insolvency or bankruptcy until the expiration of such license but not longer than 6 months after the death, bankruptcy or insolvency of such licensee.
(B) (1) A license may, upon the licensee's death, descend only to the licensee's spouse or children and in the event such licensee is not survived by a spouse or child then to the licensee's mother or father; provided, however, any such survivor must possess the same qualifications required by the deceased licensee. The passage of a license pursuant to the terms of this subsection shall not require the payment of any fees.
(2) Nothing contained in this subsection shall create any vested or property right in any liquor license in any person whatsoever, nor shall it limit or restrict the right of the Village to at any time amend or repeal this subsection.
(C) Except as otherwise provided herein and in division (J), when the licensee is a partnership or a corporation whose stock is not publicly traded on a recognized stock exchange, the license shall terminate whenever 50% or more of the ownership interest therein changes from that shown on the original license application. Prior to a transfer of 50% or more of the ownership, the partnership or corporation, through its officers/partners, shall submit a complete application and the required fees for the issuance of a new license, as provided herein, and said application is subject to approval by the Board of the Trustees and the Local Liquor Control Commissioner, in their sole discretion, and such approval is necessary for the new corporate ownership to sell and/or serve alcoholic beverages.
(D) When the licensee is a corporation whose stock is publicly traded on a recognized stock exchange, the license shall terminate whenever 50% or more of the membership of the Board of Directors of the corporation changes from that shown on the original license application, or whenever 1 person who was not shown as an owner of 50% or more of the ownership interest in the publicly-traded corporation at the time of the original liquor license application, becomes an owner of a 50% or more ownership interest in the publicly-traded corporation. In such event, the corporation, through its officers/Board of Directors, must make application for the issuance of a new license as provided in this chapter.
(E) When the licensee is a partnership or corporation, no change in ownership from that shown on the original application involving the addition of a new partner(s) of such partnership or a new shareholder(s) who will own in the aggregate more than 5% of the stock of such corporation, shall be effective until such proposed change in ownership has first been reported in writing to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner along with a completed liquor license application. Such application shall be submitted to the Liquor Control Commission for review as to the new partner or shareholder’s eligibility to hold a liquor license. The Commission shall make a recommendation to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner regarding such eligibility. After receiving such recommendation, the Commissioner shall determine whether the proposed new partner(s) or shareholder(s) is/are eligible under the provisions of § 117.22 of this chapter and shall so advise the licensee of their determination in writing. Any change in ownership without complying with the terms hereof shall constitute grounds for a fine and/or the suspension or revocation of the liquor license issued to such partnership or corporation.
(F) When the licensee is a corporation whose stock is publicly traded on a recognized stock exchange, no change in the membership of the Board of Directors of the corporation from that shown on the original application involving the addition of a new Director of such corporation shall be effective until such proposed change in Directors has first been reported in writing to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner and the Commissioner finds that the proposed new Director is not ineligible under the provisions of § 117.22 of this chapter and so advises the licensee in writing. Any change in the membership of the Board of Directors without complying with the terms hereof shall constitute grounds for a fine and/or suspension or revocation of the liquor license issued to such corporation.
(G) When the licensee is a partnership or corporation whose stock is not publicly traded on a recognized stock exchange, no change in ownership from that shown on the original application involving the withdrawal of any partner or shareholder shall be made without reporting such change in ownership in writing to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner within 10 days of any such change in ownership. Any such change in ownership made without complying with the terms hereof shall constitute grounds for a fine and/or the suspension or revocation of the liquor license issued to such partnership or corporation.
(H) When the licensee is a corporation whose stock is publicly traded on a recognized stock exchange, no change in the membership of the Board of Directors from that shown on the original application involving the withdrawal, removal or elimination of any Director shall be made without reporting such change in the membership of the Board of Directors in writing to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner within 10 days of any such change. Any such change in the membership of the Board of Directors made without complying with the terms hereof shall constitute grounds for a fine and/or the suspension or revocation of the liquor license issued to such corporation.
(I) (1) In the event that a liquor license is granted to a corporation which issues franchises relative to its business locations, the liquor license issued to the corporation may be transferred to an authorized franchisee, notwithstanding any other provision of the Code, provided the following conditions are met:
(a) The appropriate application fee, as set forth in § 117.22 of this chapter, is paid, and submitted with an original liquor license application, by the franchisee.
(b) The franchisee qualifies for a liquor license in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The corporation and franchisee submit written documentation to the Village evidencing the issuance of a franchise to the franchisee at the licensed location.
(d) The transfer request occurs within 180 days of the approval of the issuance of the liquor license to the corporation. Upon petition of the corporation, the Board of Trustees may grant an extension of the 180 days limitation upon a showing of good cause as to why the transfer could not occur within the initial 180-day period.
(2) Provided all the foregoing conditions are met, the liquor license may be transferred to the franchisee upon payment of transfer fee which shall be calculated based on the following formula:
Renewal Fee for the Particular Class of License as per § 117.22 | x | Number of days left in the license year | = | Total Fee |
365 | ||||
(3) If at any time after the transfer of the liquor license to the franchisee there is a change in the franchisee, it shall be the obligation of the corporation and the original franchisee to report the change, within 10 days after it occurs, to the Local Liquor Control Commissioner, and the new franchisee shall be required to apply for a new liquor license.
(1997 Code, § 35.13) (Ord. 78-10, passed 5-25- 1978; Am. Ord. 84-48, passed 12-27-1984; Am. Ord. CO-03-01, passed 1-6-2003; Am. Ord. CO-09- 33, passed 11-17-2009; Am. Ord. CO-2013-22, passed 3-19-2013; Am. Ord. CO-2014-04, passed 1-21-2014; Am. Ord. 2017-37, passed 10-3- 2017; Am. Ord. CO-2020-29, passed 10-20-2020; Am. Ord. CO-2021-21, passed 8-17-2021; Am. Ord. CO-2023-29, passed 7-11-2023; Am. Ord. CO-2023-32, passed 8-8-2023)