(A) The City Council shall consider the following licensing standards and criteria at the hearing and evaluation of any applicant for a retail alcoholic liquor license, for the upgrading of a license to sell alcoholic liquor or for the expansion or change in location of the premises, and for the purpose of formulating a recommendation from the governing body to the state’s Liquor Control Commission in accordance with the Nebraska Liquor Control Act:
(1) The adequacy of existing law enforcement resources and services in the area;
(2) The recommendation of the Police Department or any other law enforcement agency;
(3) Existing motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic flow in the vicinity of the proposed licensed premises, potential traffic and parking problems and the proximity and availability of on-street and off-street parking;
(4) Zoning restrictions and the city’s zoning and land use policies;
(5) Sanitation or sanitary conditions on or about the proposed licensed premises;
(6) The existence of a citizen’s protest and any other evidence in support of or in opposition to the application;
(7) The existing population and projected growth, both citywide and within the area to be served;
(8) The existing liquor licenses, the class of the licenses and the distance and time of travel to the licensed premises;
(9) The nature and needs of the neighborhood or community where the proposed premises are located, as well as its projected growth;
(10) Whether the type of business or activity proposed to be operated in conjunction with the proposed license is and will be consistent with the public interest;
(11) Whether the applicant has demonstrated that the type of management and control exercised over the licensed premises will be sufficient to ensure that the licensee can conform to all the provisions, requirements, rules and regulations provided for in the Nebraska Liquor Control Act;
(12) The background information of the applicant established by information contained in the public records of the state’s Liquor Control Commission and investigations conducted by the Police Department; and
(13) Other information and data that may reasonably be considered pertinent to the issuance of the license, including the compliance or non-compliance with other relevant ordinances.
(B) The City Council may fix certain requirements and prescribe certain conditions upon a license when it is granted or permitted to continue in full force and effect, whether the requirements or conditions are imposed at a formal hearing, by a written notice, or in a written stipulation, and the requirements or conditions shall be deemed to be a part of the license as though fully endorsed therein, and any violation or breach of any requirement or condition is prohibited.
(C) The standards set out in this section are not necessarily of equal value that can be computed in a mathematical formula. Rather, they are standards which can be weighed and cumulated positively and negatively. The burden of proof and persuasion shall be on the party filing the application. When applicable, the term
APPLICANT, as used in this section, is synonymous with LICENSEE.
(Prior Code, § 4-28)
Statutory reference:
Powers, functions of cities regarding liquor licenses, see Neb. RS 53-134