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ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE REGULATION ADMINISTRATION
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD
NOTICE OF EMERGENCY RULEMAKING
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (Board), pursuant to the authority set forth in D.C. Official Code § 25-351(a) (2012 Repl.) and Section 306 of Title 23 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), hereby gives notice of the following emergency rules to extend the existing East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone (EDCMZ) for one hundred and twenty (120) days in order to maintain the current limit on the number of retailer’s licenses Class A, B, CR, CT, CN, CX, DR, DT, DN, and DX issued in a portion of East Dupont Circle.
Emergency rulemakings are used only for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, welfare, or morals, pursuant to 1 DCMR § 311.4(e). The existing EDCMZ expired September 23, 2013. As a result, the Board found it necessary to extend the existing EDCMZ in order to hold a public hearing and make a determination regarding the future of the EDCMZ. This emergency action is necessary for the preservation of the health, safety and welfare of the District residents by: (1) ensuring that the limitations placed on the issuance of new retailer’s licenses Class A, B, CR, CT, CN, CX, DR, DT, DN, and DX are maintained; and (2) to keep the existing EDCMZ in place until the Board can adopt final rules regarding its renewal.
The Board received two proposals regarding the existing EDCMZ. On August 19, 2013, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B filed a Resolution to Extend and Modify the East Dupont Circle Liquor Moratorium (Resolution). This Resolution was adopted by the ANC on August 14, 2013. The ANC Resolution resulted from a series of public meetings that were held by the ANC from May 2013 through August 2013, with the purpose of receiving public input from stakeholders and constituents in order to formulate a recommendation for the Board.
In summary, the ANC seeks renewal of the existing EDCMZ for a three (3) year period with certain modifications. Those modifications include maintaining the cap on Retailer Class CT/DT and CN/DN; lifting the restrictions on the number of Retailer Class A, Class B and Class CR/DR licenses; retaining the current exemptions for hotels; retaining the existing language pertaining to the transfer of ownership; retaining the prohibition on the transfer of Retailer Class CT/DT or CN/DN from outside the moratorium zone to inside the moratorium zone; and retain the prohibition on the change of all Retailer Class CT/DT or CN/DN licenses.
The Board believes that both of these proposals merit further evaluation. Thus the Board seeks an extension of the existing EDCMZ to avoid its expiration and to hold a hearing to receive public comments on the proposals. A public hearing was scheduled for October 24, 2013, at 9:30 am.
These emergency rules were adopted by the Board on September 18, 2013, by a five (0) to zero (0) vote and became effective on that date. The rules will remain in effect for up to one hundred twenty (120) days, expiring January 18, 2014, unless earlier superseded by proposed and final rulemakings.
Section 306, EAST DUPONT CIRCLE MORATORIUM ZONE, of Chapter 3, LIMITATIONS ON LICENSES, of Title 23, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, of the DCMR, reads as follows:
306 EAST DUPONT CIRCLE MORATORIUM ZONE.
306.1 A limit shall exist on the number of Retailer’s licenses issued in the area that extends approximately six hundred (600) feet in all directions from the intersection of 17th and Q Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C., as follows: Class A – Two (2); Class B – Two (2); Class CR or Class DR – Sixteen (16); Class CT or Class DT – Two (2); Class CN or DN – Zero (0); and Class CX or Class DX – Zero (0). This area shall be known as the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone.
306.2 The East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone is more specifically described as the area bounded by a line beginning at New Hampshire Avenue and S Street, N.W.; continuing east on S Street, N.W., to 17th Street, N.W.; continuing south on 17th Street, N.W., to Riggs Place, N.W.; continuing east on Riggs Place, N.W., to 16th Street, N.W.; continuing south on 16th Street, N.W., to P Street, N.W.; continuing west on P Street, N.W., to 18th Street, N.W.; continuing north on 18th Street, N.W., to New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.; and continuing northeast on New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. to S Street, N.W.
306.3 All hotels, whether present or future, shall be exempt from the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone.
306.4 Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Board from approving the transfer of ownership of a Retailer’s license Class A, B, CR, CT, DR, or DT located within the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone, subject to the requirements of the Act and this title.
306.5 Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Board from approving the transfer of a license from a location within the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone to a new location within the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone.
306.6 A license holder outside the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone shall not be permitted to transfer its license to a location within the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone unless the transfer will not exceed the number of licenses permitted in the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone for that particular class or type, as set forth in Section 306.1.
306.7 Subject to the limitation set forth in Section 306.8, nothing in this section shall prohibit the filing of a license application or a valid protest of any transfer or change of license class.
306.9 No more than four (4) lateral expansion applications shall be approved by the Board in the East Dupont Circle Moratorium Zone. If four (4) lateral expansion applications are approved by the Board, current holders of a Retailer’s license Class A, B, C, or D within the East Dupont Moratorium Zone shall not be permitted to apply to the Board for expansion of service or sale of alcoholic beverages into any adjoining or adjacent space, property, or lot, unless either: (a) the prior owner or occupant of the adjacent space, property, or lot held within the prior five (5) years a Retailer’s license Class A, B, C, or D; or (b) the adjacent space, property, or lot had, for the prior five (5) years, a certificate of occupancy or building permit held in the name of the current holder of the Retailer’s license Class A, B, C, or D seeking the lateral expansion. Nothing in this section shall prohibit holders of a Retailer’s license Class C or D from applying for outdoor seating in public space.
306.10 This section shall expire three (3) years after the date of publication of the notice of final rulemaking.
