Allows liquor licenses to be issued to certain premises within two hundred feet of a building occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9038
SPONSOR: Skartados TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in
relation to allowing liquor licenses to be issued to certain premises
within two hundred feet of a building occupied exclusively as a school,
church, synagogue or other place of worship
PURPOSE:
This bill will encourage and allow the State Liquor Authority to spend
the two hundred foot rule for a business in proximity of a school or
religious institution when certain conditions apply, such as when the
establishment is Located in a commercial retail district and the local
municipal government has jurisdiction over less than one million resi-
dents and by resolution is in support of the suspension of the rule.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: This bill will allow the State Liquor Authori-
ty to suspend the two hundred foot rule for a business in proximity of a
school or religious institution as outlined in sections 64(7)(a)(ii),
64-b(5(a)ii), 64-c(31)(a)(i), 64-d(8) (a) & 105(3)(a) of the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Law, for an application for a full liquor license,
when: the municipality has a population of less than one million people,
and; when the applicant's business is located in a commercial retail
zone that permits the sale of liquor, and; when the governing local
municipal council issues a resolution in support of the application.
JUSTIFICATION: Many small cities and towns have a commercial retail
zone with a relatively small area in comparison to the size of the muni-
cipality. These compact commercial retail zones are essential to the
economic vitality of main streets and retail commercial districts.
Oftentimes, however, institutions such as places of worship, storefront
churches and schools coexist in these same commercial retail districts.
As a result of existing SLA rules in Sections 64(7) (a)(ii),
64-b(5(a)(i), 64-c(11)(a)(i), 64-d(8)(a) & 105(3) (a) of the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Law, establishments that sell liquor within 200 feet of
such institutions are prohibited from obtaining a full liquor license;
yet the restriction is removed from businesses one foot beyond that
limit that are still within sight and an easy walking distance from the
protected institution. It is arbitrary to declare that individuals who
attend a place of worship or a school that: is located on a retail
commercial street will be adversely impacted by an establishment that
sells liquor 200 feet away from the institution but not 201 feet away.
This bill gives the local municipal council the ability to make that
recommendation to the SLA.
Amending the SLA 200 foot rule in small cities and towns will remove
this arbitrary and capacious boundary in retail commercial zones when
the local municipality deems the application to be acceptable to their
standards and the safety of the public.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
