Proposed changes to the City and County of Denver’s hearings for liquor, live music and entertainment and marijuana licenses — described as chaotic under current procedures — include requiring more signatures to hold evening hearings, time limits for those hearings and formal training for hearing officers.

The changes were recently explained to the Denver City Council’s Business, Arts, Workforce and Aeronautical Services Committee, and a public hearing on the proposed changes is planned for Tuesday, May 2.

Councilwoman Kendra Black suggested a more formalized process would be helpful, and described one hearing she attended as “total chaos.”

Ashley Kilroy, executive director of the city’s Department of Excise and Licenses, said that while the department issues licenses for a variety of businesses, it holds hearings only on liquor, live music and entertainment, or cabaret, and marijuana licenses. Kilroy noted both city and state licenses are needed to operate a marijuana business.

The department manages licensing for a broad range of businesses, including retail and wholesale food operations, emergency and non-emergency vehicles, pedal cabs and peddlers, liquor and cabaret, medical marijuana centers and retail marijuana stores.

Kilroy explained the department held 223 hearings last year and through the first three months of this year, and most hearings were uncontested. Just seven were petitioned to be held in the evening, she said.

Kilroy added the hearing policies and procedures had not been updated since adoption in 2013, but recent ordinance changes made many policies and procedures outdated and antiquated. The policies and procedures were also in two different documents, which sometimes were confusing to use, she said.

Nathan Batchelder, legislative analyst for the department, provided a comparison of the current practices and proposed changes.

A working group started meeting in August of last year to review the hearing process and help develop proposals for changes to the process. Members included two representatives from registered neighborhood organizations and Denver INC (Inter Neighborhood Cooperation), a voluntary, non-profit coalition of representatives from registered neighborhood organizations, city agencies and others that promotes responsible city change and growth. The working group also included two industry, or applicant, representatives, a hearing officer, representatives from the city attorney’s office, excise and licenses and Office of Marijuana Policy.

They focused on clarification, communication and standardization, Batchelder added. The group’s recommendations included increasing the number of valid petition signatures to hold an evening instead of daytime hearing from 10 to 25.

“We think that number shows that there is a real need and opposition to a license application,” Batchelder said.

Councilwoman Debbie Ortega questioned the difficulty of gathering 25 signatures, especially if neighbors opposed to a license work outside the city and may not have enough time to meet the filing deadline.

Batchelder explained legal and enforceable “good neighbor agreement” stipulations considered at the hearing could be included on the face of the license.

The number of conditions that could be placed on a license would be unlimited, instead of the current limit of four conditions, if they are legal and enforceable, he added.

Other changes would require petitions of support or opposition to be filed seven days before a hearing date and hearings may not last more than four hours, but could be continued to another day and time. The department will also set up a guideline to help determine expert witnesses, which would require such witnesses to file a brief statement on their subject matter expertise, as well as any other information describing their expertise in a particular area.

Other minor changes include defining “designated areas” for parties of interest and including an elected official role in the hearing process, based on which Council district is involved or if they live within the designated area. The department will also codify hearing communication processes.

No changes were proposed for live music and entertainment standards and licenses.

After the hearing officer makes a recommendation to either approve, approve with conditions, or deny the license, the Excise and Licenses Department’s executive director makes the final decision. Parties may object to the hearing officer’s recommendation and appeal the executive director’s final decision to Denver district court.

Kilroy said the changes would take effect when they are formally adopted, after the May 2 hearing. A citizen’s academy is also planned to help educate the public how the hearing process will work. The academy will be videotaped for additional uses, Kilroy noted. Liquor and marijuana licensing pamphlets that explain the new processes will also be printed in English and Spanish.

Kilroy said the department has seven hearings officers on contract, who will all undergo formal training on the new procedures. She also offered to attend any Council or neighborhood meeting to talk about the changes.

Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore asked for information about the citizen academy so a Council staff member can attend and help Council offices field and answer questions about the license hearing process.

The proposed policies and procedures can be found online at the Excise and Licenses Department website: denvergov.org/businesslicensing.

— mike@coloradostatesman.com