The purpose of this chapter is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community by regulating the locations of alcoholic beverage sales in relation to one another and to certain public and private facilities and structures. These provisions further regulate the establishment and operation of land uses to ensure safety and compatibility throughout South Gate.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the ownership, establishment, enlargement, construction, conversion, modification, operation, renewal, or transfer of ownership of all land uses that include on-sale and off-sale alcohol sales/service activities. In addition to the standards of this chapter, all provisions of Chapter 2.10, Business Regulation, and Chapter 7.28, Alcoholic Beverages, shall apply to all land uses regulated by this chapter. Specifically, this chapter regulates the following:
A. 
Land uses proposing to sell alcoholic beverages.
B. 
Land uses that propose to change the type of current alcoholic beverage sales, resulting in a change in the type of retail liquor license within a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license classification.
C. 
Land uses proposing a substantial change in the mode or character of operation, which includes the following:
1. 
A floor area increase of ten percent or more;
2. 
A restaurant seating capacity increase of twenty-five percent or more; or
3. 
A shelf area increase for the display of alcoholic beverages of twenty-five percent or more.
D. 
Any land use providing temporary building space or land area for on-site alcohol sale, service, free distribution, or consumption of alcohol, unless an exemption is applicable.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
A. 
Sale. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "sale" is used and defined as any proffering of alcohol by sale, service, gift, or allowed consumption.
B. 
Separation. The regulated distance separation of this chapter shall be measured between the nearest property line of the proposed business or establishment offering the sale of alcoholic beverages (unless otherwise specified) and the nearest property line of the specified land use, as measured along a straight line extended between the two points.
C. 
Accessory Use. For the purposes of this chapter, an "accessory use" is when a business establishment's primary sales is other nonalcohol merchandise and but also sells alcohol such as grocery stores or retail stores (i.e., Target).
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
It shall be unlawful for a business licensee to violate or fail to comply with any requirement or condition imposed by this chapter, or by final action of the city council. Such violation or failure to comply shall constitute a public nuisance and shall be subject to the same penalties as any other violation of this title.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
A. 
License Required. All businesses or establishments offering the sale of alcoholic beverages shall be required to obtain and continuously maintain all applicable California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control licenses. All city permits related to the property, land use, or CUP shall be contingent on the maintenance of required state licenses and adherence to all applicable conditions.
B. 
Conditional Use Permit Required. A CUP shall be required for all land uses offering the sale of alcoholic beverages, on-sale or off-sale, within the city. Any application for, and approval of, a CUP for an on-sale liquor establishment shall be consistent with the location and distance requirements of this chapter.
1. 
Take-Out Restaurant Limitation. Take-out-only restaurants are not eligible for a CUP for on-site sale of liquor.
2. 
Public Assembly Requirements. A temporary CUP shall be required for any alcohol sale at any public assembly event or activity occurring in connection with the rental, lease, donation, or other occupation of a building or structure, unless as exempted below:
i. 
The following uses are exempt from the CUP provisions of this section: any nonprofit organization conducting an event or activity with alcohol sales not more than one day each month, or not more than twelve days in any calendar year; provided, however, that any such bona fide nonprofit organization submit to the city, not less than thirty days prior to such event or activity, an application for a special permit authorizing such event or activity.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
A. 
Limited On-Sale Establishments. The following location requirements shall apply to any on-sale liquor establishment operating under an Alcohol Beverage Control type 40, 42, or 48 license.
1. 
Minimum five-hundred-foot separation from any residential zone properties as measured from main entrance to main entrance of the buildings involved.
2. 
Minimum five-hundred-foot separation from any similar on-sale liquor establishment as measured from main entrance to main entrance of the buildings involved.
3. 
Minimum five-hundred-foot separation between any on-sale liquor establishment and any existing place of worship, school, hospital, park, or playground as measured from property line to property line of the parcels involved.
4. 
Closed circuit television must be in operation during business hours.
B. 
Off-Sale Establishment. The following separation between uses shall be required; all separation shall be measured from main entrance to main entrance of the buildings involved (for off-sale liquor establishments), or from parcel line to parcel line for non-liquor-related land uses (see subsection (C) of this section, Off-Sale Separation Exemptions).
1. 
Minimum five-hundred-foot separation from any residential zone properties.
2. 
A minimum five-hundred-foot separation shall be required between any off-sale liquor establishment and any of the following land uses:
i. 
Any other off-sale liquor establishment;
ii. 
Any existing church, temple, or other place of worship; school; hospital; park; or playground.
3. 
A minimum six-hundred-foot separation shall be required between any fueling station with concurrent off-premises beer and wine sales and any of the following land uses:
i. 
Any other off-sale liquor establishment;
ii. 
Property zoned as residential (NL or NM zone);
iii. 
Any existing place of worship, nonprofit religious organization, school, hospital, park, or playground.
4. 
Closed circuit television must be in operation during business hours.
C. 
Off-Sale Separation Exemptions. The five-hundred-foot separation requirement shall not be applicable to any off-sale liquor establishments as follows:
1. 
Located within a retail shopping center of two acres (eighty-seven thousand one hundred and twenty square feet) or more.
2. 
Conducting business operations as an existing nonconforming use, with or without a CUP.
3. 
Mini-marts as defined in Chapter 11.60, Definitions.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
Any CUP for a use within this chapter shall include the following minimum mandatory conditions; additional mandatory conditions listed in this section shall be applicable to specific types of liquor sales, as identified.
A. 
Mandatory Conditions.
1. 
No alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, shall be consumed on the premises for off-sale uses.
2. 
No alcohol sales displays shall be permitted that are visible from the public street or parking lot.
3. 
Employees selling alcoholic beverages shall be of an age consistent with Section 25663 of the California Business and Professions Code.
B. 
Standard Conditions of Approval.
1. 
The validity of the CUP shall be conditioned on compliance with all state regulations and conditions.
2. 
The premises shall be maintained at all times in a neat and orderly manner.
3. 
Trash receptacles shall be provided in such number and at such locations as specified by the planning commission.
4. 
All alcoholic beverages sales, offerings, and consumption shall be conducted completely within an enclosed building on premises, except for in permitted outdoor seating areas for on-sale uses.
5. 
Building and site design and maintenance shall be consistent with the standards of the immediate neighborhood so as not to cause blight or deterioration, or to substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
6. 
The owner/operator or lessee shall be responsible for the conduct of all employees, including their education concerning Alcohol Beverage Control regulations and provisions of this code pertaining to sales of alcohol (e.g., verification of age of purchaser).
7. 
The permittee shall acknowledge that the city has specifically reserved the right and authority to impose sanctions, including suspension or revocation of the CUP, as a consequence of one or more violations of a state statute, rule, or regulation concerning the sale to or consumption of alcoholic beverages by a minor.
8. 
The permit shall be subject to compliance review of the property and CUP conditions at planning-commission-established intervals; the first compliance review shall occur within six months of permit issuance or actuation.
9. 
Any kitchen facility on premises (in conjunction with a restaurant) shall be maintained at all times in a clean and sanitary condition.
10. 
Adequate refrigeration shall be maintained at all times for the preservation of any food on the permittee's premises.
11. 
The permit shall, after notice to the permittee and an opportunity to be heard, be subject to additional conditions to maintain or remedy land use compatibility, security, or crime control issues that have arisen since the issuance of the permit.
C. 
Additional Mandatory Mini-Mart Conditions.
1. 
No telephone accessible to the general public shall be installed within the permitted premises.
2. 
No arcade-type games, including video games, shall be installed or operated on the permitted premises.
D. 
Additional Mandatory Fueling Station Conditions.
1. 
No beer or wine shall be displayed within five feet of the cash register or the front door of the permitted premises unless displayed in a permanently affixed cooler.
2. 
Drive-through/drive-in sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
3. 
No display of beer or wine shall be made from an ice tub.
4. 
No beer or wine advertising shall be located on fuel islands, and no self-illuminated advertising for beer or wine shall be located on buildings or windows.
5. 
No distilled alcohol shall be sold at any time.
6. 
No wine with alcohol levels in excess of nine percent shall be sold at any time in bottles having a capacity of less than seven hundred fifty milliliters.
7. 
No sale of beer, wine, or spirits shall be permitted between the hours of two a.m. and six a.m.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
If the conditions of any CUP issued pursuant to this chapter are violated by the permittee, or by anyone acting under the authority of the permittee, the planning commission shall, in accordance with the procedures and noticing requirements set forth in Chapter 11.51, Permits and Procedures, be authorized to take the following actions:
A. 
Consumption by a Minor, State Statues. Any violation related to a state statute concerning alcohol sale to a minor shall result in the following. The city has the authority to identify the reasonable remedy for the CUP violation.
1. 
First violation: a fifteen-day permit suspension.
2. 
Second violation occurring within three years of the first violation: sixty-day permit suspension.
3. 
Third violation occurring within three years of the second violation: the permit shall be revoked.
B. 
Consumption by a Minor, Other Regulations. Any violation related to any condition other than a state statute concerning alcohol sale to a minor may result in the suspension or revocation of the permit at the discretion of the city council. The permit may be revoked and reissued with new or modified conditions, as may be appropriate under the circumstances.
C. 
Cost Recovery. Reimbursement to the city for all costs and expenses reasonably incurred in investigating, identifying, and documenting the violation, and in processing information concerning the violation, may by imposed as a condition of the continuation, reinstatement, or reissuance of any permit.
D. 
Violation Signage. For the duration of any suspension of an alcohol-related CUP, the planning commission, or, upon any appeal, the city council, may direct the permittee to post a sign on the premises of the establishment relating to such suspension. The size, content, and location of such sign shall be as specified by the director.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)
All nonconforming alcohol sales-related land uses shall be subject to the standards of this section.
A. 
Discontinued Nonconforming Uses. Any nonconforming land use engaged in alcohol sales that ceases operations for at least one hundred eighty days (for reasons other than legitimate construction or maintenance) shall not be permitted to recommence operations. All future use of the site shall be required to conform to the standards of the applicable zone and Chapter 11.55, Nonconforming Uses and Buildings.
B. 
Suspension and Revocation of Business Licenses. The business license for any existing nonconforming off-sale or on-sale liquor establishment may be modified, suspended, or revoked (subject to procedure and noticing requirements of Chapter 11.51) if the planning commission finds that the existing nonconforming use, as operated or maintained, does any of the following:
1. 
Jeopardizes, endangers, or adversely affects the health, peace, or safety of persons residing or working in the surrounding area.
2. 
Constitutes a public nuisance.
3. 
Results in repeated nuisance activities, including disturbances of the peace, illegal drug activity, public drunkenness, drinking in public, harassment of passersby, gambling, prostitution, sale of stolen goods, public urination, theft, assault/battery, acts of vandalism, loitering, excessive littering, illegal parking, excessive loud noises (especially in the late night or early morning), traffic violations, curfew violations, lewd conduct, or police detentions/arrests.
4. 
Violates any applicable provisions of this chapter, or any other city, state, or federal regulation, ordinance, or statute.
C. 
Required Findings. The following written findings are required to support the recommendation of the planning commission to modify, suspend, or revoke a business license:
1. 
Prior governmental efforts to persuade or compel the business licensee to eliminate or mitigate the problems associated with the use have failed; and
2. 
The business licensee has failed to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the planning commission, the willingness and ability to eliminate or mitigate the problems associated with the use.
D. 
Legal Standing Requirements.
1. 
A business license-related appeal may be taken to the city council in the same manner as prescribed in the applicable provisions of Chapter 2.08.
2. 
All business licenses and modifications shall be consistent with the constitutional rights of any person.
3. 
Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to affect or supersede the concurrent authority of the director of building and safety or designee, or the director of finance, to suspend, or to recommend the suspension of, a business license in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 2.08, or any other provisions of law.
4. 
This section is cumulative with and in addition to all other available remedies for the abatement of public nuisance activities and nonconforming uses or structures as provided by law.
(Ord. 2323 § 1 Exh. A (part), 4-28-2015)