Those looking for answers about the delay in setting up a liquor store operation in a downtown may get them Monday night.
Rebecca Hardin, a representative from hotel owners S&B Management, will be on hand for the public hearing regarding the issue at the Dec. 3 city council meeting.
The owners of the Coast Inn of the North have submitting a rezoning application to make permanent a temporary allowance for a retail liquor store on site.
The temporary use permit granted to the proponents in 2010 to turn the former Sergeant O'Flaherty's pub into a store expires in November 2013, but so far no retail operation has been put into place.
The city's planning department has recommended council approve the application as it fits with the Official Community Plan's decree to "revitalize downtown as the commercial, cultural and civic heart of the community."
According to a report from planning staff, the change in zoning from C5: Local Commercial to C1: Downtown allows for a range of "uses appropriate for the downtown, including hotels, apartments, office, retail, liquor retail and liquor primary establishments."
During the 2010 process, the Downtown Business Improvement Association spoke out against the application, but current president Rod Holmes said the DBIA has no plans to oppose the zoning amendment before council.
"Our feeling is, if it's going to follow the rules and regulations, we have no problem with it at all," Holmes said.
Also having a hearing at the council meeting is an application from the Croft Hotel to extend their hours of liquor service.
Currently, the downtown establishment serves from 10 a.m. to midnight every day. The applicant, Areo Holdings Ltd., is requesting to extend the hours by two by changing them to 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The planning department is recommending that council approve the application, as extending the hours will bring the Croft in line with other establishments with a later last call, such as Heartbreakers nightclub, Lambda nightclub and Generator Cabaret.
The Croft Hotel is also not requesting any expansion of their occupant load, which is currently 56 people inside and 24 on the patio.
"Extending the hours of liquor service at the Croft Hotel does not significantly change what is already an entertainment area downtown," the staff report reads. "The purpose of the extended hours is to allow patrons to be served until the end of their evening without needing to change venues."
However, the Prince George RCMP have expressed concern that the later hours will result in further strain on police resources due to a likely increase in call for their service.
A third hearing will be held to hear out the owners of Jack & Jill Laundry & Dry Cleaners Ltd., who are asking for a variance to keep their animated sign outside of their Hartway Drive business.
Having moved from Great Street this summer, the business also brought the digital sign which hung on the front of their building.
But the zoning of their new current location does not permit such a feature, and the planning department is recommending that council deny their application.
"Both the City of Prince George Transportation Division and the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure believe the animated sign may increase driver distraction along Hart Highway," the staff report says, adding that it could set a precedent for more animated signs in the Hart Highway corridor.
Earlier this year, council gave the go-ahead to another business who wanted to install an animated sign along Highway 16, despite city staff's recommendation.
Full agenda
Part of a jam-packed agenda, council will use this meeting to ratify their previously discussed decisions on user fees, utility rates and core services review recommendations stemming from the Nov. 14 committee of the whole meeting. Mayor Shari Green will also table her report from the Prince George delegation's late November trip to China.
They will also vote to give the first two readings to am Official Community Plan amendment for a planned subdivision in the Hart. The development of the Valleyview Lands is coming back to council after the original plan was scrapped by the applicant this summer following a wall of opposition from neighbours.
As part of the application, planning staff are recommending that final reading be withheld until a geotechnical overview is completed, a servicing brief is prepared and a traffic-impact study carried out.
A public hearing will be held in council chambers at a later date once first and second reading has been given.
