§ 6-70 — Application

Sec. 6-70. - Application.

(a) Requirements. Application for an underage patrons license may be made by any standard cabaret, dance cabaret, special dance cabaret, acoustic cabaret, or events center cabaret licensee, or any applicant for a standard cabaret, dance cabaret, special dance cabaret, acoustic cabaret, or events center cabaret license, by submitting an application on forms provided by the manager, paying the application and annual license fees, and establishing that the applicant has: (1) A record of management of a liquor licensed premises in compliance with the Colorado Liquor Code and/or the Denver Cabaret Code, or sufficient education, training, and/or experience in the liquor service industry, so as to establish competence, to the satisfaction of the manager, in managing a liquor licensed premises in compliance with the Colorado Liquor Code and chapter 6 of this Code; and (2) Physical facilities in compliance with all municipal ordinances and codes, including but not limited to the Denver Zoning Code, Denver Building Code, Denver Fire Code, and the rules and regulations of the Denver board of public health and environment, in all proposed alternative configurations of assembly areas; and (3) A written general description of how the applicant's employees and/or agents would prevent underage patrons from purchasing, possessing, consuming, and/or removing from the licensed premises, any alcohol beverage originating from the licensed premises, should the application be approved. (b) Presumption of competence. For purposes of subsection (a)(1) above, an applicant shall be presumed to be qualified for the issuance of an underage patrons license, where: (1) Applicant has possessed a valid standard cabaret, dance cabaret, special dance cabaret, acoustic cabaret, or events center cabaret class license for the premises, which are the subject of the application, for at least two (2) years prior to the enactment of this section; and (2) For two (2) years prior to the date of application, no illegal sale, service, distribution, purchase, or delivery of an alcohol beverage to or by any person under the age of twenty-one (21), in violation of Colorado Revised Statutes sections 12-47-901(1)(a) or (5), or 18-13-122, has occurred on the subject premises; and (3) The Denver public nuisance abatement coordinator has not issued a public nuisance abatement plan, pursuant to section 2-317(a), during the past two (2) years, due to allegations of public nuisance offenses, as defined in section 37-50(c)(1) through (7), and (9) through (15), occurring on the real property which is the subject of the application. (c) Required evidence of competence. Any applicant who does not meet the requirements of subsection (b) above must be individually reviewed by the manager, for purposes of determining their qualifications under subsection (a)(1) above, and must submit the following additional information to the manager with their application: (1) A detailed written operations plan, precisely describing how the applicant's employees and/or agents would prevent underage patrons from purchasing, possessing, consuming, and/or removing from the licensed premises, any alcohol beverage originating from the licensed premises, should the application be approved, and providing evidence of their possessing sufficient personnel, training, and equipment resources to carry out the operations plan; and (2) The applicant's employee training manual and/or employee policy and procedures manual, describing the various employee assignments, duties, and responsibilities in the areas of guest relations, alcohol sales and service, and the prevention of underage patrons from purchasing, possessing, consuming, or removing from the licensed premises, any alcohol beverage originating from the licensed premises, considering the applicant's detailed written operations plan filed pursuant to subsection 6-70(c)(1); and (3) Proof of the prior approval, by the building inspection division of the Denver community planning and development agency and the Denver fire department, of a submitted diagram clearly depicting the extent and details of the physical layout of the proposed licensed premises and the configuration of assembly areas during any and all operations, with or without underage patrons, as indicated in the applicant's detailed written operations plan, for purposes of the proper review of all safety related issues, including, but not limited to, appropriate emergency exits, emergency lighting, and changes upon occupancy loads during the proposed cabaret operations. (d) Split-premises operations. For purposes of subsection (c) above, the following factors shall be considered: (1) For purposes of subsection (c)(1) above, an applicant's detailed written operations plan will be presumed to be adequate and acceptable where the plan commits to a permanent split-premises style of operation, where alcohol beverages are sold, possessed, or consumed only in designated permanent rooms, approved with assigned occupancy loads by the building inspection division of the community planning and development agency, that are separate from areas of non-alcohol beverage service and inaccessible by underage patrons. Acceptable plans may also use structural design separation, such as balconies, as long as it does not allow any alcohol beverage to be passed from the alcohol beverage service area to the non-alcohol beverage service area. (2) In order to assure the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public, all applicants submitting a detailed written operations plan for temporary split-premises, planning for changeable configurations of assembly areas through the use of temporary barriers, will be required to have their detailed written operations plan and each proposed configuration of assembly areas individually reviewed and approved by the manager, the building inspection division of the Denver community planning and development agency, and the Denver fire department. (3) Any applicant who meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section will not automatically be required to submit to a public hearing, as required under section 6-60, solely due to the use of temporary barriers in a temporary split-premises operation.

(Ord. No. 1111-01, § 11, 12-17-01; Ord. No. 427-18, § 3, 6-11-18; Ord. No. 1003-25, § 3, 7-28-25)