- Press Release April 2020
- Restaurant Beverage Program Fact Sheet April 2020
- SATT Coverage: 1) Prior Post 2) Prior Post
City Planning is proposing a program to permit eligible sit-down restaurants to serve alcohol through an administrative clearance process. The Restaurant Beverage Program (RBP) is intended to save applicants time and money. Largely as a result of community input, the ordinance incorporates nearly 50 operating standards. These standards will be applied citywide, contributing to consistency and equity in the review of alcohol permits.
Under existing City regulations, all businesses seeking to serve alcohol, regardless of the business type, are required to apply for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). This process takes roughly six months and costs approximately $12,500. For establishments such as bars or nightclubs, which have the potential to create adverse impacts, the Conditional Use Permit process provides a useful tool for neighbors to weigh in and for the decision-makers to evaluate the establishments’ potential impact. However, establishments where alcohol is incidental to dining, the Conditional Use Permit process is time-consuming and costly with little commensurate benefit for the community. Per the City Council’s instructions, City Planning has prepared an ordinance that creates an administrative clearance process for on-site alcohol sales at bona fide sitdown restaurants, subject to objective operational standards as well as mandatory monitoring and inspections. The proposed process would take approximately three weeks, cost roughly $3,000.
