Liquor license criteria updated in township

By Dana Casadei

Multiple updates within the criteria to obtain a Class C or tavern liquor license were approved at the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, June 23.

Clerk Martin Brook noted that this was being brought to the board as a housekeeping item to update some outdated aspects in the original 2015 resolution.

“Thank you for presenting that and updating it,” said trustee Neal Barnett, who has been on the board of trustees since 2004. “Going through those minutes was like going through memory lane.”

Part of the resolution’s focus was to update the criteria’s monetary figures tied to license approval to be more in line with current inflation.

Monetary amounts that changed within the resolution include an increase from $250,000 to $333,000 for the preferred minimum past capital investment during the past five years by the applicant; and the same increase was made for the amount expended for the rehabilitation or restoration of the building that houses the licensee over the preceding five years or a commitment for a capital investment of at least that amount shall be $330,000 in the building that houses the licensed premises. That must be expended before the issuance of the license.

The minimum preferred capital investment for the new development or redevelopment by the applicant will now be $2 million compared to the original $1.5 million to reflect inflation rates in 2025.

Since gambling is permitted under state law, the resolution will allow for omitting an amendment in the 2015 license that required applicants trying to get a Class C or tavern liquor license to demonstrate that they would not allow or permit gambling on the premises.

Another item that will be removed discussed applicants needing to receive a favorable recommendation from the Bloomfield Township Police Department after a completed background check. This is no longer needed since the Michigan Liquor Control Commission conducts background investigations.

The resolution was approved 7-0.