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Planning commission hears police and staff on Lavender compliance, gives owner one month to pull permits
Summary
Commissioners were briefed on enforcement issues at a business known as Lavender after staff and police documented instances of minors and unlicensed bartenders at events. Staff said the business must pull building permits for a kitchen within a month or face further action; the type 47 liquor application was withdrawn.
The Westminster Planning Commission on Aug. 6 received a briefing from staff and police about compliance problems at a business referred to in the record as Lavender and instructed staff to monitor permit activity and report back if deadlines are not met.
Staff told the commission that Lavender had been approved previously under a type 42 (on-sale beer and wine) license, which does not allow children on the premises, and that the business recently submitted for a type 47 (general) license that would allow distilled spirits and permit patrons under 21 if a full kitchen is installed. "They do not have that [kitchen] yet, so they are not operating under that new liquor license. They are still on the old one," said planning staff (Ken). Police and code enforcement documented multiple incidents in the past year in which hard alcohol was present or unlicensed bartenders served alcohol at private events and minors were present. The police detective told the commission that department practice is to document such visits and notify ABC; officers typically do not arrest in those situations.
Staff reported two documented violations in the past six months. The transcript shows the owner admitted allowing patrons to bring their own alcohol at some events; those incidents were forwarded to ABC for potential action. Staff said the applicant has since withdrawn the type 47 liquor-license application, which "by default should make the CUP null and void," according to one speaker; staff later clarified the CUP for beer-and-wine could remain valid if the operation conforms to that license.
Commissioners discussed the limits of staff authority to revoke a conditional use permit (CUP). The city attorney explained that revocation typically starts with the planning commission and is appealable to city council, but the attorney said they did not have the specific CUP language on hand. Staff stated they have no unilateral authority to revoke a CUP and would need the commission or council to recall the permit for formal revocation.
The commission was told the owner had hired a contractor and been given a month to pull building permits to install the kitchen; code enforcement would then work with the applicant on construction. Several commissioners said the commission should be notified if permits are not pulled within the month so revocation or a public hearing could be scheduled. One commissioner also asked the city attorney to examine whether planning notices should more clearly identify when multiple businesses under a single name are separate operations or expansions of an existing business.
No formal revocation motion was made at the meeting. The commission directed staff to monitor compliance and report back if the applicant did not meet the timeline. The police detective emphasized that ABC is the agency that issues liquor citations and that local police document violations and forward them to ABC for investigation.
