Council to change liquor licensing

At the Nov. 13 Encampment Town Council meeting, the first reading of a revised alcoholic beverages code was approved.

The revisions are still in an early draft form, and have not been reviewed by legal counsel, according to Town Clerk Doreen Harvey. There will be at least two more readings of the revised code at town council meetings and the public is invited to comment on the process.

Harvey said the change in the code is needed to bring the town code in line with state regulations and most of the revised language is borrowed from the statutes of other municipalities.

The biggest change to the existing code is the addition of a “Duty to Maintain Order” section which states, “The Chief of Police or his designee may order any establishment operating with a liquor license closed until the following 6 a.m. when the Licensee or person in charge fails to maintain peace and order which creates an emergency and immediate threat to the bodily security or property of any member of the general public within the establishment.”

Other major changes include adding definitions of temporary licenses for malt beverages, catering and temporary dispensing rooms.

In the new language on these items, it stated in the draft document a maximum of six of any kind of temporary license will be issued to any one entity in a single year.

Also contained in the draft of the revised code is a change from publishing license application notices from four weeks to two weeks, and removal of the publication fee for public hearing notices.