Boulder licensing authority renews Riverside liquor license, requires 12 months of monthly sales-tax check-ins

The Beverage Licensing Authority on Dec. 18 conditionally renewed the liquor license for Riverside Group LTV, dba Riverside, after concluding the late renewal and tax problems had been resolved but imposing monitoring conditions.

The authority voted unanimously to approve the renewal after hearing that the license had expired July 30 and that the licensee submitted a renewal application Sept. 23, 2024, after clearing outstanding sales- and occupation-tax obligations. Evidence in the record shows city staff notified the licensee repeatedly in August and September that the license was expired and that operation without a renewal was prohibited. The city’s licensing manager, Kristen Changaris, told the board that the licensee’s renewal application and late fees were not on file before a police visit Sept. 22, when officers observed alcohol service at the premises.

Why it matters: the board balanced the licensee’s past tax delinquencies and a police citation for operating with an expired license against the steps taken to resolve those delinquencies and the lack of prior liquor-safety violations. The board chose to renew while adding a monitoring requirement intended to ensure timely future tax compliance.

Details of the case: owner and registered manager Richard Moser said he had tried to file a renewal earlier in July but could not find a confirmation email and later used loan proceeds in late September to pay back taxes and close escrow. Attorney James Beimford (counsel for Riverside) pointed to a Colorado Liquor Code provision allowing a licensee to file a late renewal within 90 days of expiration upon payment of prescribed late fees. Riverside paid the local and state late fees and resolved the municipal-court citation related to the Sept. 22 police contact.

Sales-tax office comment and board condition: Alberto, a sales-tax representative, told the board that Riverside had not been consistently in good standing in the past year and that the city had perfected liens against the business. Sales tax recommended the authority impose a condition if it renewed the license: Riverside must provide an email from salestax@bouldercolorado.gov confirming good standing at each monthly BLA hearing for 12 months; if the email indicates noncompliance, Riverside must appear at the hearing and allow city staff 24 hours to provide the email to the authority.

The board’s action: Vice Chair Michael Carr moved to conditionally renew the license requiring (1) timely filing of sales tax and compliance with city code and (2) a monthly email showing sales-tax good standing submitted at least 24 hours before the BLA packet deadline for 12 months. Member Absalom seconded the motion. The voice vote was unanimous (Member Carr: aye; Member Absalom: aye; Member Haggerty: aye). The board’s motion ties the monitoring requirement to the city’s sales-tax verification process rather than creating a separate tax-enforcement mechanism.

Agency responses and next steps: Licensing staff said they will send the monthly deadline dates to the licensee and reminded the board that payment of late fees and filing the renewal were completed after the police visit. Riverside’s owner acknowledged the administrative failures and said he had taken steps to hire administrative help and to stay current on taxes.

Ending: The BLA will monitor Riverside through the monthly sales-tax emails for one year and may revisit the license if the new conditions are not met. The board recorded the renewal as approved with conditions at the Dec. 18 hearing.