Pawtucket Board of License Commissioners
July 9, 2008
A regular session of the Pawtucket Board of License Commissioners is held Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at 7:10 p.m. in the Pawtucket School Administration Building, 1st floor, 286 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI.
Present – Chairperson Bray, Councilors Chadwick, Grebien, Hodge, Kinch, Moran and Wildenhain.
Absent – Councilor Barry.
Chairperson Bray presides.
The reading of the records of June 25, 2008 is dispensed with and the records are approved as prepared by the Clerk.
THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR HODGE.
With majority consent of the Council, Councilor Hodge introduces the following communication:
Communication from Frank J. Milos, Jr., Esq., Assistant City Solicitor, to Richard J. Goldstein, City Clerk. (200 Foot Rule – Class A License Holders)
Upon motion made by Councilor Hodge, seconded by Councilor Kinch, the following communication is READ AND ORDERED FILED.
Communication from Frank J. Milos, Jr., Esq., Assistant City Solicitor, to Richard J. Goldstein, City Clerk. (200 Foot Rule – Class A License Holders)
A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FOLLOWING APPLICATION FOR LICENSE, WHICH WAS ADVERTISED FOR A HEARING AT THIS TIME, IS TAKEN UP:
CLASS A
PLW-MA Inc., d/b/a Blackstone Wine & Spirits, (Transfer from 1179 Central Avenue) 295 Armistice Blvd. LIC#4952
Speaking in favor is applicant Craig Power, 94 Wendell Road, Warwick, RI, and Michael F. Horan, attorney, representing the applicant.
Mr. Power states that they have had a package store in Pawtucket since 2005 and would like to transfer to the old Blockbuster store on Armistice Boulevard. This store would be 7,600 square feet and is a better location.
Mr. Power states that hours of operation will be from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. He will have four employees and has fifteen years of experience with liquor establishments. He states that he has a ten-year lease with two five-year renewal options.
Mr. Horan discusses the distance between this proposed establishment and the one across the street. He believes that DBR Rule 41 would apply in this situation and the 200 foot measurement should be taken from the building to the premises. He believes the parking lot should be included in the measurement, which is more than 200 feet, therefore, the law prohibiting package stores from being within 200 feet of each other does not apply.
Mr. Horan presents a map showing the distance between the two package stores being more than 200 feet apart, not counting the street.
Councilor Kinch asks who did the measurement.
Mr. Power states that he did it.
Councilor Kinch questions the distance and wants an independent check done.
Councilor Wildenhain states that the Engineering Department has already done it.
Councilor Kinch is concerned with people drinking in the parking lot.
Speaking in opposition is Michael Sendley, Esq., 1168 Newport Avenue, Pawtucket, RI, attorney representing Nawee Liquors, Inc. d/b/a Darlington Liquors.
Mr. Sendley requests that this matter be continued. He states that Darlington Liquors only found out about this transfer on Monday. He believes that the 200 feet should be measured from edge of lot to edge of lot, which is less than 200 feet.
Mr. Sendley believes that the fact that the city sent notice to Darlington Liquors proves that they are within the 200 feet limit.
The next speaker in opposition is Brian Fitzgerald, 350 Benefit Street, Pawtucket, RI.
Mr. Fitzgerald is the owner of JR Liquors. He states that a liquor store should serve the neighborhood, but having too many liquor stores close together doesn’t serve the neighborhood. He states that 7,600 square feet is a huge store and would encroach on other, smaller businesses.
The next speaker in opposition is Robert Jacobs, 553 Armistice Boulevard, Pawtucket, RI.
Mr. Jacobs is the owner of Countryside Liquors. He states that his is a small business and works hard to keep kids out. He is afraid that this will hurt his small business.
The next speaker is Tom Heng, 346 Armistice Boulevard, Pawtucket, RI.
Mr. Heng is the owner of Darlington Liquors and has been operating since August of 2004. He states that this new store will hurt his business and he doesn’t believe another liquor store is needed in the area. He is also concerned about drinking in the parking lot.
There are no other speakers.
THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR WILDENHAIN.
Upon motion made by Councilor Wildenhain, seconded by Councilor Hodge, this Public Hearing is continued until July 23, 2008.
CLASS A
PLW-MA Inc., d/b/a Blackstone Wine & Spirits, (Transfer from 1179 Central Avenue) 295 Armistice Blvd. LIC#4952
Communication from Michael Naughton, President, Galway Bay, LLC d/b/a Galway Bay Irish Pub, to the Honorable Members of the Pawtucket City Council, requesting permission to serve food and alcoholic beverages in the parking lot of 156-158 South Bend Street on Thursday, July 12, 2008, is READ AND ORDERED FIELD AND THE REQUEST IS APPROVED WITH THE FOLLOWING STIPULATIONS, on a unanimous voice vote.
STIPULATIONS:
Entire area is temporarily fenced in.
Use one entrance only.
No one may leave the area with alcohol.
Maximum of 40 people in patio area.
THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR KINCH.
With majority consent of the Council, the following motion made by Councilor Kinch, seconded by Councilor Wildenhain, is PASSED on a unanimous voice vote:
The Clerk is instructed to send a communication to Margaret Lynch-Gadaleta, City Solicitor, requesting that someone from the Law Department be present at the July 23, 2008 meeting to answer any questions that should arise about the Blackstone Wine & Spirits transfer. Prior to the meeting, the Board is requesting answers to the following questions:
1. It was stated by Mr. Horan that there is case law that used D.B.R. Rule 41 on broader applications than the specific measurement to schools/churches. The Board is asking if this is true.
2. What is the definition of “public way” as used in R.I.G.L. §3-7-4?
3. In Rule 41, the board questions using “building” to the “premises” and not “building” to “building” or “premises” to “premises.” It seems to the Board that this is a double standard because in this case, going in one direction would be much farther than going in the other direction. If you go from the edge of the building of the proposed Blackstone Wine & Spirits to the edge of the premises of Darlington Liquors across the street to determine if the distance apart is more than 200 feet, this would include the large parking lot, which gives you a long distance. However, if the situation was reversed and Darlington Liquors was the applicant, if you measured from the edge of the building of Darlington Liquors to the edge of the premises of the proposed Blackstone Wine & Spirits, this would not include the large parking lot, which gives you a far shorter distance. The Board questions the sense of this.
THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCILOR KINCH.
With majority consent of the Council, the following motion made by Councilor Kinch, seconded by Councilor Wildenhain, is PASSED on a unanimous voice vote:
The Clerk is instructed to send a communication to Ron Travers, Director of Zoning & Code Enforcement, requesting that he or the Engineering Department measure the distance from the building at 295 Armistice Boulevard, where Blackstone Wine & Spirits has applied to transfer their store, to the premises of Darlington Liquors at 346 Armistice Boulevard.
Upon motion made by Councilor Hodge, seconded by Councilor Wildenhain, the meeting is adjourned at 7:57 p.m.