By Myrna Trauntvein
|TN Correspondent
During the summer of 2020, administrative action was taken by the city council to issue a beer license to the Ute Stampede Committee for beer sales at the Extreme Bull Riding event. “In this administrative action, there was some disagreement amongst the council about the city’s code,” said Seth Atkinson, city administrator. The disagreement revolved around two issues; 1) there was no clear classification for the type of license being sought by the Ute Stampede Committee, and 2) the city code lacked a definition of the term “premises” stated under the Class A license. The city’s code defers to the state’s definition of terms when a different definition is lacking (Title 3-2-1 A). “Some clarifications needed to be made,” he said. The first issue revolved around the request for the Ute Stampede Committee to sell beer at the Extreme Bull Riding Competition, a special event. “The city’s code does not specifically address beer sales at special events,” said Atkinson. The closest category was a Class A retail license which is defined in the code as follows: “Class A retail licenses shall entitle the licensee to sell beer on the premises licensed in original containers for consumption off the premises in accordance with the Utah alcoholic beverage control act and the ordinances of the city.” The operative word in this definition, and second issue at play, was the word “premises.” In the absence of a definition within the city’s code, the default definition was found in the state code, he said. Under the Utah State Code Alcoholic Beverage Control Act the definition of premises is: “’Premises’ means a building, enclosure, or room used in connection with the storage, sale, furnishing, consumption, manufacture, or distribution, of an alcoholic product, unless otherwise defined in this title or rules made by the commission.” The state allows buildings, enclosures, or even rooms to be designated as “premises.” Given the broad nature of the definition from the state, staff felt that the Ute Stampede Committee’s request had met the city’s code and should therefore be entitled to a beer license. In order to help clarify these issues in the city’s code, the council has chosen to consider looking at options for creating a classification for beer sales for special events or outright prohibiting sales of alcoholic products for special or a single event. “After the council meeting last year to review the code, direction was given to staff to prepare two ordinances,” said Atkinson. The first ordinance would allow for beer sales with conditions, and the second would prohibit beer sales at events. Once the two ordinances were prepared, the council wanted to seek public input. Both ordinances have been prepared for council review and for public input. “Since it was decided to craft two different ordinances and allow public comment to be made before the council determined which ordinance to adopt those ordinances have been prepared and are ready for comment,” said Atkinson. The ordinance allowing beer sales has been modeled after the ordinance in Spanish Fork. It provides broad authority for the council to either grant or deny the permit and specifically allows it for a single event. Under that ordinance, the license would be designated as a “Class E” beer license. Additional language has been added that prohibits a beer license for use in a city park. “It should be noted that law enforcement thought the event last year went very well and prefer to openly monitor alcohol consumption and sales at the event,” said Atkinson. It was noted, however, that when it came to beer licenses at the county fairgrounds, those would need to be obtained from the county. “The county owns the fairgrounds,” said Atkinson. “They recently adopted an ordinance prohibiting beer sales at the fairgrounds.” The Ordinance Allowing for Beer License at Events states in part: “NOW THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of Nephi City, State of Utah, that Section 3-2-3 and 3-2-10 (K)(1) of the Nephi City Code be amended as follows: “SECTION 1. The current Section 3-2-3 of the Nephi City Code is amended as follows: “3-2-3: CLASSIFICATIONS OF LICENSES: Retail licenses issued hereunder shall be of the following four (4) kinds and shall carry the following privileges and be known as class A, class B, class C, and class D, and class E licenses: “E. Class E retail licenses shall entitle the holder thereof to sell alcoholic beverages of the type specified in the application for a single event in accordance with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, and with such restrictions as may be imposed in the license. The City Council shall have the discretion to grant or deny such a license, taking into account the type of event, the type of persons expected to attend such event, the location of the event, the time of the event, the proximity to residential areas, public areas, schools, and churches. Retail Licenses shall not be issued for sales or consumption of alcoholic beverages for a single event in a city park. “SECTION 2. The current Section 3-2-10 (K)(1) of the Nephi City Code is amended as follows: K. Alcohol Training And Education: “1. No person shall be granted a class B, C, or D or E beer license which permits the sale of “alcoholic beverages,” as defined by Utah Code Annotated section 32A-1-105, for consumption on the premises, unless that person shall show, within six months of license issuance, certificates granted by the Utah department of alcoholic beverage control, or by adequate proof of the existence of such certificates, that each employee of the business engaging in the serving, selling or furnishing of such alcohol on the premises has completed the alcohol training and education seminar, as required in Utah Code Annotated section 62A-15-401.” The Ordinance Prohibiting Beer License at Events reads in part: “NOW THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of Nephi City, State of Utah, that Section 3-2-3 of the Nephi City Code be amended as follows: SECTION 1. The current Section 3-2-3 of the Nephi City Code is amended as follows: “3-2-3: CLASSIFICATIONS OF LICENSES: Retail licenses issued hereunder shall be of the following four (4) kinds and shall carry the following privileges and be known as class A, class B, class C and class D licenses: “E. Retail Licenses for beer sales are not issued for special or single events.” “Let the voices of the public be heard,” said Nathan Memmott, council member. “This would affect more than rodeo events and would cover events throughout the city except at the city park.” He also wanted it understood that he did not want beer purchased at a store to be taken to the parking lot and consumed there. “A Class A license lets a person purchase alcohol and then take it somewhere else to drink,” said Memmott. “A Class E would let the buyer consume at the event,” said Larry Ostler, council member. Skip Worwood, council member, said that they could still tighten the language up so that there would be no misunderstanding. “We could define “premise” for all licenses,” said Kasey Wright, city attorney. Memmott asked if the word “parcel” would substitute. Wright, as the attorney, will consider a definition that would be in keeping with the council’s understanding.
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