HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-03-16 Public Comment - C. Smith - Bozeman TaproomFrom:Christine Smith
To:Agenda
Subject:Taproom
Date:Saturday, December 03, 2016 7:48:38 AM
As you may have noticed a bar, the Taproom, opened across the street from Hawthorne earlier
this year. The bar currently serves beer and wine, but has recently applied for a full liquorlicense. Many of fellow parents and community members are concerned about the negative
impact a bar, in such close and visible proximity, poses to the Hawthorne learningenvironment. We are seeking support for the city denying The Taproom's conditional use
permit for for a full liquor license.
Here is some background info about the current beer and wine license they obtained from thestate. Montana law (From Montana Annotated Code (http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/16/3/16-3-
306.htm) states"...a retail license may not be issued pursuant to this code to any business orenterprise whose premises are within 600 feet of and on the same street as a building used
exclusively as a church, synagogue, or other place of worship or as a school..." The law wasadopted to provide a safe learning environment for children. The owners circumvented the law
by changing the address of their establishment from Rouse, which is the school's postaladdress, to Mendenhall, and the state granted the beer & wine license. The City approved the
conditional use permit needed to use the license.
While there are other establishments serving alcohol within 600 feet of the school, none ofthem have quite the same impact on Hawthorne. The Taproom is only 100 feet away, opens at
11 am, and has large windows with large TV screens facing the classrooms along Rouse. Inaddition, the rooftop bar with a wide open view to the school is open in warm weather. No one
is opposed to the Taproom, just the proximity of it to our children's eyes and ears while theyare at school. Now the Taproom is attempting to make the situation much more serious by
serving hard alcohol from 11:00 am on through out the day, and has asked the City to grant it aconditional use permit to do so.
Christine Smith
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