[Neighbors] Sector Plan Change: Tonight NHNA Meeting

Mon Sep 12 13:35:19 MDT 2016

This message refers to the following item included on the September Nob Hill Neighborhood Association meeting agenda for Monday, September 12th.

1. Sector Plan Change – Liquor Control Waiver – Sean Foran/Moe Chavez 
If I recall correctly this same group presented this sector plan change in March 2016. Below are the comments I submitted for that meeting. My opinion on this issue has not changed and I encourage all NHNA members to read my comments and voice your own opinion either at this meeting or in comments to your City Councilor - you can do that by message to: theboard at nobhill-nm.com and  patdavis at cabq.gov and seanforan at cabq.gov

Comment on legislation proposed at the NHNA Board meeting March 14, 2016 – Susan Michie

I am opposed to the proposed legislation that would allow a waiver for a full liquor license within 300 feet of a church or school in Nob Hill, for the following reasons:

1) I believe that the drivers of this proposed change want to open a restaurant/bar in a location that has been a beer/wine bar/restaurant for many years and has recently been empty for several years, but that may not be the case for future waiver applications and thus, this legislation could potentially increase the number of bars with full liquor licenses in locations that were not previously bars or restaurants in Nob Hill. I do not think it is good practice to change the law in order to benefit a single business owner.

2) A recent analysis of our commercial district by a retail expert confirmed that the ratio of bars/restaurants to retail is too high on the bar/restaurant side. Therefore, I do not think the NHNA should be supporting any legislation that could potentially increase the number of restaurant/bars in Nob Hill in the future. On the contrary, I believe the city and state should enact legislation that would limit the number of full liquor establishments in neighborhoods with commercial districts to avoid the tendency for “clustering” into “bar districts” which discourages a good business mix in local commercial areas. The local business mix should serve the needs of the entire community not just alcohol consumers. See Madison, Wisconsin for one example of a city that has done just that. 

3) I understand that the property owner could still rent the space as a restaurant with beer and wine only in the proposed location (old La Provence) and I believe it is best to retain legislation that would encourage beer and wine only licenses whenever possible, because these establishments are more likely to include food service and close earlier than full liquor establishments – and although this particular applicant intends to open a restaurant at this time, there is no guarantee that future applicants will.

4) As for this particular business location – it is part of a triangle area formed by Monte Vista, Central, and Wellesley. Within this area, a residential R-1 zone is directly adjacent to the CCR-1 zone with no buffer. There are already 2 bars with full liquor within this triangle which have no parking and thus, no security or proper lighting. The problem is with patrons parking on dark residential streets late into the night which increases all types of criminal behavior – from auto theft to public disturbance to assault and battery. If you look at crime stats for Nob Hill you will see that this area has some of the highest crime rates in our community. APD has attributed this problem directly to the “bar scene”. I believe bars that stay open past 10:00 p.m. (typical restaurant hours) should be required to have adequate, secure, well lit parking. O’Niell’s and Scalo are good examples of a full liquor bars that provide these necessities and crime rates around these establishments are much lower.

5) As for this particular applicant – I understand that this legislation is begin proposed by the owners of an existing bar in Nob Hill that has one of the worst reputations in the neighborhood for police calls that include violence, garbage violations, along with trash and poor sanitation in general around the building. In recent months they have cleaned up their property, most likely, in hopes of obtaining this wavier, but there is no guarantee they won’t revert back to their old ways once the waiver is granted. This particular bar consistently advertises and serves extremely cheap drink specials i.e. $5 shots, all-day happy hours, etc. that contribute to excessive alcohol consumption, drunk driving, and violent brawls in the neighborhood. 

Best case scenario, in my opinion, is that this attempt to make Nob Hill an exception to the citywide liquor law that prohibits full liquor licenses within 300 feet of a church/school is denied. I am not against alcohol establishments in Nob Hill, I am against this legislation because I believe it will reinforce a recent trend that is turning our commercial area into a “bar district” with little or no benefits for the surrounding community.

A decade ago, Nob Hill was a thriving shopping and dining district. Today it is a “place to go bar hopping”. What happened? Uptown and the Great Recession – yes, but – the change had help from the city too. First, parking meters were installed and monitored during the daytime hours only, which meant free parking at night only. Second, our Sector Plan update in 2007 removed parking requirements for any commercial use under 3000 sq. ft. Within 5 years, the number of liquor licenses in Nob Hill doubled. And while retail in Nob Hill continues to decline, in Uptown and Old Town retail has begun to recover. FYI: the new ABC-to-Z zoning codes intend to further reduce parking requirements in the commercial zones.

Given that restaurants/bars need 3-4 times more parking for the same square footage as retail; this led to growing complaints from existing business owners about parking. Some existing business and property owners have shown up at ZHE hearings in recent years to oppose parking variances and liquor licenses, due to their impact on property owners who do provide off-street parking for their tenants. The reason being that new bars must meet all zoning requirements to obtain a liquor license and parking is one of the requirements.

In 2014, the Nob Hill/Highland Sector Plan was updated again and the under 3000 sq. ft. parking exemption for commercial space was removed for restaurants and bars. For this reason, the business owners who want to change the current liquor law for distance from a church or school may still not be able to open a restaurant with full bar in the old La Provence space until ABC-to-Z changes the parking requirements.

Based on the above, the applicants’ claim that changing the law will be good for small businesses is weak. In the last decade, one church has opened in the Nob Hill commercial district (Calvary in the Lobo Theater) and one church has closed (Trinity Methodist). Churches and bars have co-existed in the Nob Hill commercial district for decades and the idea that a proliferation of churches or schools will threaten the bar industry in the future is ludicrous. Everyone knows most churches in Nob Hill are struggling to keep their doors open.

Finally, the idea that we should follow in the footsteps of Downtown (where this waiver is already in effect) is not a popular notion in Nob Hill. On the contrary, the residents and business owners I know are concerned that Nob Hill is becoming more like Downtown and that is not a good thing. Until the city is willing to provide adequate and safe public parking for the commercial zones , I cannot support changing a law that will encourage more late night bars without secure parking. And, it appears that the waiver legislation is being proposed to benefit a single group of businesses owners, rather the majority of businesses and property owners in Nob Hill.

Regards, Susan Michie
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/neighbors_nobhill-nm/attachments/20160912/ed000c5d/attachment.html>