(A) Compliance checks and inspections. All licensed premises shall be open to inspection by the Police Department or other authorized city official during regular business hours. At least once per year, the city shall conduct compliance checks by engaging persons over the age of 18 and less than 21 years, to enter the licensed premises to attempt to purchase intoxicating or 3.2% malt liquor. Persons used for the purpose of compliance checks shall be supervised by city designated law enforcement officers or other designated city personnel. Persons used for compliance checks shall not be guilty of unlawful possession of intoxicating or 3.2% malt liquor when the items are obtained as a part of the compliance check. No person used in compliance checks shall attempt to use a false identification misrepresenting the person’s age, and all minors lawfully engaged in a compliance check shall answer all questions about the person’s age asked by the licensee or the licensee’s employee and shall produce any identification, if any exists, for which the person is asked. Nothing in this subchapter shall prohibit compliance checks authorized by state or federal laws for educational, research, or training purposes, or required for the enforcement of a particular state or federal law.
(B) Hearing notice for revocation or suspension of license. Revocation or suspension of a license by the City Council shall be preceded by public hearing conducted in accordance with M.S. §§ 14.57 through 14.69, as they may be amended from time to time. The City Council may appoint a hearing examiner or may conduct a hearing itself. The hearing notice shall be given at least ten days prior to the hearing, include notice of the time and place of the hearing, and state the nature of the charges against the licensee.
(C) Grounds for revocation or suspension of license. The City Council may suspend or revoke any license for the sale of intoxicating liquor or 3.2% malt liquor for any of the following reasons:
(1) False or misleading statements made on a license application or renewal, or failure to abide by the commitments, promises, or representations made to the City Council;
(2) Violation of any special conditions under which the license was granted, including, but not limited to, the timely payment of real estate taxes, and all other charges;
(3) Violation of any federal, state, or local law regulating the sale of intoxicating liquor, 3.2% malt liquor, or controlled substance;
(4) Creation of a nuisance on the premises or in the surrounding area;
(5) That the licensee suffered or permitted illegal acts upon the licensed premises or on property owned or controlled by the licensee adjacent to the licensed premises, unrelated to the sale of intoxicating liquor or 3.2% malt liquor;
(6) That the licensee had knowledge of illegal acts upon or attributable to the licensed premises, but failed to report the same to the police;
(7) Expiration or cancellation of any required insurance, or failure to notify the city within a reasonable time of changes in the term of the insurance or the carriers; and/or
(8) Failure of an establishment granted a license to exhibit satisfactory progress toward completion of construction within six months from its issuance, or failure of an establishment to operate for a period of six months. A hearing shall be held to determine what progress has been made toward opening or reopening the establishment and, if satisfactory progress is not demonstrated, the City Council may revoke the license.
(D) Presumptive civil penalties. The purpose of this section is to establish a standard by which the City Council determines the length of license suspensions and the propriety of revocations, and shall apply to all premises licensed under this chapter. These penalties are presumed to be appropriate for every case; however, the City Council may deviate in an individual case where the City Council finds that there exist substantial reasons making it more appropriate to deviate, such as, but not limited to, a licensee’s efforts in combination with the state or city to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors. When deviating from these standards, the City Council will provide written findings that support the penalty selected.
(1) The minimum penalties for convictions or violations must be presumed as follows (unless specified, numbers below indicate consecutive days’ suspensions):
Type of Violation | Appearance | |||
First | Second | Third | Fourth | |
Type of Violation | Appearance | |||
First | Second | Third | Fourth | |
After hours display or consumption of liquor | $500 | Six days | 18 days | Revocation |
After hours sale of liquor | $500 | Six days | 18 days | Revocation |
Commission of a felony related to the licensed activity | Revocation | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Failure to take reasonable steps to stop person from leaving premises with liquor (does not apply to off-sale 3.2% malt liquor license) | $500 | Six days | 18 days | Revocation |
Illegal gambling on premises | $500 | Six days | 18 days | Revocation |
Refusal to allow city inspectors or police admissions to inspect premises | $500 | 15 days | Revocation | |
Sale of liquor to obviously intoxicated person | $500 | Six days | 18 days | Revocation |
Sale of liquor to underage persons | $500 | Six days | Revocation | N/A |
Sale of intoxicating liquor where only license is for 3.2% malt liquor | Revocation | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Sale of liquor while license is under suspension | Revocation | N/A | N/A | N/A |
(2) The City Council may impose a three-day suspension for failure to pay the required fine on the first appearance.
(E) Multiple violations. At a licensee’s first appearance before the City Council, the court must act upon all of the violations that have been alleged in the notice sent to the licensee. The City Council in that case must consider the presumptive penalty for each violation under the first appearance column in division (D) above. The occurrence of multiple violations is grounds for deviation from the presumed penalties in the City Council’s discretion.
(F) Subsequent violations. Violations occurring after the notice of hearing has been mailed, but prior to the hearing, must be treated as a separate violation and dealt with as a second appearance before the City Council, unless the City Manager or designee and licensee agree in writing to add the violation to the first appearance. The same procedure applies to a second, third, or fourth appearance before the City Council.
(G) Subsequent appearances. Upon a second, third, or fourth appearance before the City Council by the same licensee, the City Council must impose the presumptive penalty for the violation or violations giving rise to the subsequent appearance without regard to the particular violation or violations that were the subject of the first or prior appearance. However, the City Council may consider the amount of time elapsed between appearances as a basis for deviating from the presumptive penalty imposed by this subchapter.
(H) Computation of appearances. After the first appearance, a subsequent appearance by the same licensee will be determined as follows.
(1) If the first appearance was within 18 months of the current violation, the current violation will be treated as a second appearance.
(2) If a licensee has appeared before the City Council on two previous occasions, and the current violation occurred within 30 months of the first appearance, the current violation will be treated as a third appearance.
(3) If a licensee has appeared before the City Council on three previous occasions, and the current violation occurred within 42 months of the first appearance, the current violation will be treated as a fourth appearance.
(4) Any appearance not covered by divisions (H)(1), (H)(2), or (H)(3) above will be treated as a first appearance.
(I) Other penalties. Nothing in this section shall restrict or limit the authority of the City Council to suspend up to 60 days, revoke the license, or impose a civil fine not to exceed $2,000 for each violation, to impose conditions, or impose any combination of the foregoing sanctions, or take any other action in accordance with law; provided, that the license holder has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing in the manner provided for in this section.
(Prior Code, § 112.14)