New Law Makes It Easier For LA Restaurants To Get Alcohol Licenses
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- The Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Wednesday to streamline the process for some restaurants to be permitted to serve alcohol -- reducing the process from months to just weeks, and by thousands of dollars.
The ordinance, which creates the Restaurant Beverage Program, will next need to be approved by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The program, which has been developed over the last four years, will allow eligible sit-down restaurants to serve alcohol through an administrative clearance process that would cost about $4,000 instead of $13,000 through the Conditional Use Permit process, according to the Department of City Planning.
Councilman Paul Krekorian, who introduced a motion in August 2017 that began the process for the ordinance, said before the vote Wednesday that restaurants can go through the expedited process if they agree to conditions that are stricter than the current permitting process through the Conditional Use Permit.
"We all know that the restaurant industry has hit on very hard times, particularly post-pandemic. So we've been working on a way to try to shorten the time that restaurants need to get open and to get open and provide a full range of services to their customers, while still protecting the surrounding neighborhood," Krekorian said.
Night clubs, bars and liquor stores are not eligible for the program, and restaurants in approved locations have to meet a specific eligibility criteria before qualifying.
Several people with the Los Angeles Drug and Alcohol Policy Alliance called in to the city council meeting to oppose the ordinance and ask for amendments, including additional restrictions on happy hours, minimum drink requirements and drink specials.
The ordinance was supported by the Independent Hospitality Coalition, which represents more than 1,200 food service business operators and employees in the Los Angeles area.
"The creation of RBP would help businesses who need it most -- the small restaurant businesses that cannot afford a Conditional Use Permit -- both the extreme financial burden and lengthy time historically associated with the CUP process, typically requiring the hiring of an expeditor to navigate the cumbersome process," the coalition said in a January letter to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
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