Town of Smithfield, RI Article II Licenses

[Adopted as indicated in section histories (Secs. 3-1 through 3-3 of the 1985 Code of Ordinances)]

§ 118-2 Number of licenses. [1]

[Amended 2-24-1976; 5-27-1980; 12-13-1983; 12-18-1984; 5-13-1986; 8-9-1994; 11-19-1996; 4-7-1998; 1-7-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-01; 9-1-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-04; 1-17-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-1]

The maximum number of Class B (full privilege), Class B (limited) and Class D (full privilege) alcoholic beverage licenses which may at any one time be issued and outstanding within the Town is hereby fixed as follows:

Class of License	Maximum Number
B (full privilege)	45
B (limited)	14
D (full privilege)	5

[1] Editor's Note: State law references - Maximum number of licenses, G.L. 1956, § 3-5-16; retail licenses generally, G.L. 1956, § 3-7 et seq.

§ 118-3 New license applications.

[Added 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-10[1]]

A. All new business applications shall complete a business registration in the office of the Town Clerk or on the Town's website as required by § 236-11 of the Smithfield Code of Ordinances.

B. An application form must be obtained from the Office of the Town Clerk or on the Town's website, fully completed, and returned to the Town Clerk with the payment for the annual license fee and all required documentation which shall include:

(1) Background check.

(2) Retail sales permit (issued by the RI Division of Taxation).

(3) Certificate of good standing (issued by the RI Division of Taxation).

(4) Menu.

(5) A brief written description of the premises sufficient to identify the specific location, within the building and/or on the property grounds where alcohol is to be served; a site plan, drawn to an acceptable engineering scale and accurately presenting all required data.

(6) An abutter's list from the Smithfield Tax Assessor's office which will identify all property owners with 200 feet of any point of the premises where alcohol will be served (R.I.G.L. § 3-5-17).

(7) A special use permit from the Smithfield Building Department (if applicable).

C. Notice. Notice of the application must be given by regular mail to all owners of property within 200 feet of the proposed business location. The notice shall be prepared and mailed by the office of the Town Clerk, and the cost associated with said mailing shall be paid by the applicant. The notice must state that the abutting property owners have a right to address the proposed application and state the time and place of the public hearing.

D. Advertising. The Office of the Town Clerk will advertise the public hearing once a week for two weeks in a newspaper of local circulation. The initial advertisement must appear 14 days or more before the scheduled hearing date.

E. Basis for denial or approval. The Town Council has the general discretionary authority to deny a license for reasons to include, but not limited to:

(1) Compliance with state and local health and safety laws, codes, ordinances, rules, and regulations.

(2) Compliance with state and local alcoholic beverage laws, codes, rules, and regulations.

(3) Premises is located within 200 feet of a school or place of public worship (R.I.G.L. § 3-7-19).

(4) Impact on traffic.

(5) Parking.

(6) Impact on existing municipal services and requirements, if any, for new municipal services.

(7) Impact on Police Department.

(8) Failure of the applicant to comply with the requirements of state law, including, but not limited to:

(a) Applicant must be a citizen and resident of Rhode Island, except that licenses may be issued to corporations incorporated in other states of the United States if they are authorized to transact business in Rhode Island (R.I.G.L. § 3-5-10).

(b) Corporate applicants with 25 stockholders or less must provide a list of the names and addresses of all stockholders, officers, and members of the board of directors to the Town Council, and each person listed must be a suitable person to hold a license within the district of the Town Council (R.I.G.L. § 3-5-10).

(c) Failure of a corporation to report the acquisition of a 10% interest and any change of officer or directors within 30 days (R.I.G.L. § 3-5-10).

(d) Applicant has a criminal record or repeated violations of the alcoholic beverage laws.

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former §§ 118-3 through 118-13 as §§ 118-6 through 118-16.

§ 118-4 License renewal applications.

[Added 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-10]

A. All licenses, except F and F-1, are issued for a period of no more than one year and shall be renewable on December 1 each year in accordance with these rules and regulations and state law.

B. The license renewal applications shall be submitted by October 1 to allow time for processing. Failure to submit a timely license renewal application shall be grounds for denying renewal of the license.

C. The full amount of the annual license fee must be submitted with the application. Failure of the Town Council to act on a license renewal application, timely submitted and fully completed and executed, shall cause the existing license to be extended until such time as the Town Council acts on the application.

D. The Town Council may refuse to renew any license for reasons to include but not limited to:

(1) One or more incidents of disorderly conduct within the licensed premises or outside of the licensed premises if the conduct can be shown to have its genesis within the premises.

(2) Failure to comply with state and local health and safety laws, codes, ordinances, rules, and regulations.

(3) Failure to comply with state and local alcoholic beverage laws, codes, rules, and regulations.

(4) Delinquency of applicant in payment of tangible taxes and application fees.

(5) Failure to furnish a certificate of good standing issued by the Rhode Island Division of Taxation.

E. Notice: Notice to abutting landowners is not required.

F. Advertising: The license renewal application shall be advertised in a newspaper of local circulation. The advertisement shall provide the date and time of the meeting at which the renewal application shall be considered.

§ 118-5 License restrictions.

[Added 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-10]

A. The Town Council shall have the authority to impose restrictions upon a license, whether newly issued, renewed, transferred, or relocated, provided the restrictions are designed to promote the reasonable control of alcoholic beverages.

B. The Town Council shall have broad discretionary authority to impose restrictions which are generally applied to all liquor licenses or all licenses within a class. Restrictions applicable to all licenses shall include but not limited to:

(1) No loud noise, music, or other nuisance shall be permitted to annoy nearby residents, persons on adjoining properties, street, or sidewalks, consistent with Chapter 252 of the Smithfield Code of Ordinances.

(2) The applicant assumes all responsibility and liability which may result from the granting of the license. The applicant acknowledges that the Town of Smithfield assumes no responsibility by granting the license.

C. Any other conditions imposed by the Zoning Board of Review must be complied with by the licensee.

§ 118-6 Prior payment of taxes required.

[Amended 1-28-1981; 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-10]

Any applicant for, or license or holder of, an alcoholic beverage license within the Town must satisfy and pay any and all tax liabilities prior to the granting of a new alcoholic beverage license or the renewal of an existing alcoholic beverage license.

§ 118-7 Definitions.

[Amended 1-28-1981; 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-10]

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

TAX LIABILITIES

Includes, but not be limited to, any and all real, personal or intangible tax, as well as sewer usage fee or sewer assessment.