There should be no moratorium on issuing liquor licences in Whistler, but a new liquor licensing advisory committee should take a more active role in reviewing liquor licence applications, according to the Pannell Kerr Forster Liquor Licensing Review. The review, which was commissioned by the municipality in June of 1997, makes several recommendations but states strongly that market forces should prevail, rather than imposing a moratorium on new liquor licences. The report and its recommendations, which were presented to and accepted by council Monday, have the support of the RCMP and the bylaw department. The report’s first recommendation is the creation of a liquor licensing advisory committee, consisting of a member of the planning department, a local police officer, a bylaw department representative, a representative of the public safety department, two representatives of the Food and Beverage Association and a local community representative. During question period at the end of Monday’s council meeting Glenn Fawcett of Mountain World and a Whistler restaurateur asked council to consider carefully the two representatives from the Food and Beverage Association. "My concern is that the Food and Beverage Association has somewhat of a radical opinion when it comes to competition," Fawcett said. He said that 82 per cent of the licensed seats in Whistler are in eating establishments, but the Food and Beverage Association is dominated by people in the bar and club sector. "I’d ask that you consider only one of the two Food and Beverage Association seats for a bar representative, and the other for a restaurant person," Fawcett said. Other recommendations in the Pannell Kerr Forster review include: o steps to ensure community awareness and public input as part of the licensing referral process o the addition of late night transit from the village (which was implemented last May) o mandatory air conditioning for all new hotels, bars, restaurants and nightclubs o creation of a good neighbour policy or other methods of encouraging air conditioning in existing hotels and licensed food and beverage establishments o sufficient resources for bylaw officers to continue dealing with "late night situations" o a more stringent permitting system with graduated penalties for amplification and outdoor music.
