The DRA Land Use Committee has reviewed the application for a structural change to a Liquor Primary Licence to increase the occupant load from 171 to 282 people with no adjustment to the existing hours of 9AM – 2AM daily.
Since the applicant is seeking a 65% increase in capacity and the site is located proximal to several residential buildings, we request that the City defers this, and any other application, seeking substantial additions to liquor-related seating in the downtown core until two underlying issues have been resolved.
In the interests of full disclosure and information sharing, we request that staff consistently provide council and the public with a Vicinity Map as it relates to each application. These maps typically include information about all licenced establishments in a 100m-proximity showing licence type, establishment name, address, occupancy load and hours of operation. As we have seen with the variety of liquor related establishments at the Strathcona Hotel, there is a tipping point for the total capacity that any one residential area can absorb before liveability becomes a challenge.