City of Philadelphia - File #: 060645

• File #: 060645
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 9/14/2006
• In control: CITY COUNCIL
• Final action: 9/14/2006
• Title: Calling upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly to amend Act 39 of 2005 so that the City of Philadelphia can continue to play a vital role in regulating the sale of take-out beer within the City.
• Sponsors: Council President Verna, Council President Verna, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember DiCicco, Councilmember DiCicco, Councilmember Miller, Councilmember Miller, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Rizzo, Councilmember Rizzo, Councilmember Kelly, Councilmember Kelly, Councilmember Ramos, Councilmember Ramos, Councilmember Krajewski, Councilmember Clarke, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Kenney, Councilmember Kenney
• Indexes: ACT 39 OF 2005, BEER PERMIT APPLICATION

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
9/14/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED
9/14/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED
9/14/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	READ
9/14/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	READ
9/14/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced	Pass
9/14/2006	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced	Pass

Title
Calling upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly to amend Act 39 of 2005 so that the City of Philadelphia can continue to play a vital role in regulating the sale of take-out beer within the City.
Body
WHEREAS, Through passage of Act 39 of 2005, the Pennsylvania General Assembly granted a unique role to the City of Philadelphia in the regulation of take-out beer sales within the City. This Council has long recognized that while the vast majority of liquor licensed establishments make a unique contribution to the spirit and ambiance of our City, the presence of nuisance bars and stop-n-go's exacts a terrible toll on the quality of life in many of our neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, While the City and its residents welcomed this new role of regulator of take-out beer sales, the language of Act 39, which mandated that Council be the body that adjudicates the merits of each take-out beer permit, posed many difficult challenges to the City in implementing Act 39. Amongst these challenges was the need for Council to create a system from scratch for receiving and processing an anticipated 1000 permit applications, the requirement that Council exercise adjudicatory powers and ensure that applicants receive due process of law and the requirement that Council's deliberations must be concluded within 45 days of the filing of an application; and
WHEREAS, Despite the short lead time between the law's passage in June and the date it took effect in September, the City responded extremely well to these challenges. The Council received more than 500 applications within the first 3 weeks alone and a total of 880 during the first year of Act 39. Committed to minimizing the burden on law abiding establishments, Council streamlined the approval process for establishments without any protests, resulting in 733 applications being approved just 15 days after filing; and
WHEREAS, To ensure fairness in its deliberations, Council worked with leaders of the Philadelphia Bar Asso...