New pub seeking council’s blessing for longer hours

The owner of a British pub in downtown Penticton is seeking a new liquor licence that would allow patrons on the premises until 3 a.m.

Brexit is currently only permitted to stay open until midnight, according a staff report prepared for discussion by city council at its regular meeting today.

The proposed change has already been sent to a technical review committee, which listed noise as its main concern with the switch to a liquor-primary licence.

Brexit is properly zoned for liquor primary and told city staff it has received informal support from residents and businesses in the area.

With no current noise complaints since it opened this summer, Brexit has also assured council that its request will not modify business operations substantially and will look to shut down an air unit that currently vents noise towards a residential lot.

Council doesn’t have a veto on the liquor licence application, but can make a recommendation on it.

Today’s council meeting will also see a public hearing regarding the Kendall Crescent carriage housing debate, in which a proposal is seeking the ban of carriage homes in the neighbourhood.

Previous petition signers have notified council that their support was in seeking restrictions to carriage size homes, and not to ban carriage homes all together. There is concern about the impacts such a ban could cause for current carriage home owners.

The allowable heights of carriage homes with also be discussed at the hearing.

In other business, council will hear about a petition that shut down a plan to create a local area service tax bylaw that would have covered $826,000 worth of road, sidewalk, and other upgrades in the Burnaby Avenue, Wylie Street, and Riverside Drive areas.

Instead, it will now fall to the developer of a townhouse project at 240 Riverside Dr. to foot the entire bill for about $300,000 worth of bare-bones street improvements in the vicinity of the project.

Other land matters going before council are a proposed rezoning for 1087 Dynes Ave. in order to build two duplexes on an empty lot and a plan to put up a four-unit townhouse at 481 Wade Ave. E.