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TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney DATE: December 10, 2024 SUBJECT: Ord 24-670 Amend Portions of Chapter 4 of the City of Oshkosh Municipal Code Pertaining to Alcohol Beverages – License Investigations, Granting and Issuance of Premises and Operator’s Licenses

BACKGROUND

The State of Wisconsin updated significant portions of the Wisconsin Statutes pertaining to Alcohol Beverage laws.  City staff reviewed the changes and worked with outside counsel from the law firm of Ogden, Glazer and Schaefer, LLC who specialize in alcohol beverage regulations.   Based on the review of our current codes it is recommended that the City update and clarify current code provisions pertaining to license investigations and to the granting and issuance of premises and operator’s licenses.  The Department of Revenue issued draft guidance on November 6th that staff is currently reviewing and which may necessitate or advise additional changes, particularly in relation to Full Service Retail outlets.  However at this time, staff is recommending the current changes to give the City a clear process and starting point.  If additional changes or modifications are required when the guidance and final rules are issued, staff would follow up with those after further review.

ANALYSIS

A working group comprised of staff from the City Attorney’s office, City Clerk’s office, Police Department, Fire Department, Planning Services Division, Parks Department and the City Manager and outside counsel met on several occasions to review the new state statutes and discuss the city’s current processes and procedures.  In many cases the updates are simply adding current practices more explicitly into the Municipal Code.  One change that is not currently referenced in the alcohol beverage sections of the Municipal Code but does currently occur when a new business is established under the provisions of Chapter 30 of the Zoning Code is a review by the Planning Services Division.  Due to changes in the state statutes pertaining to state licensing of Full Service Retail outlets, it is being recommended to municipalities to include a reference to zoning compliance within the alcohol beverage portions of your municipal code.  As noted above, we continue to await some additional guidance from the State in this regard, however, because municipalities are starting to see these applications coming at this point, staff is recommending the changes to the code at this time.  If additional clarifications are needed based on future guidance we will bring those forward as may be necessary.   A redlined and annotated version of the current code is attached to this memorandum which notes the specific changes being recommended and the basis for those changes.   Staff is grateful to outside counsel from the Ogden, Glazer and Schaefer law firm who provided expertise in this complex area of law and a perspective from an applicant’s potential view to our discussions to assure that staff was working within the law and in a manner that would not be burdensome to applicants.

FISCAL IMPACT

It is difficult to estimate a fiscal impact from the proposed revisions in this case.  Many reflect current processes and therefore staff believes at this point that there may be no or minimal impact.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the Council approve the proposed amendments to Chapter 4 Pertaining to Alcohol Beverages – License Investigations, Granting and Issuance of Premises and Operator’s Licenses.

Attachments ORD 24-670 Chapter 4 updates - clean Chapter 4 Updates - redline

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