Kodiak residents and visitors will continue to have limited options to have beer and wine while eating out within city limits.
State alcohol regulators have decided to not take action on the City of Kodiak’s request to increase the number of licenses for restaurants to serve beer and wine also known as Restaurant or Eating Place Licenses [REPLs]. By default, state law limits the number of these licenses by population size-- four in the city's case. There are exceptions though, and the city was trying to qualify for one of those under the Title 4 Rewrite of Alaska State Statute.
Back in June the city council formally asked the State Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board to issue ten new licenses of this kind to Kodiak.
But Lizzie Kubitz, the acting director for the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, said that the City of Kodiak does not qualify to make this kind of request. The municipality must meet certain requirements laid out in the Title 4 Rewrite like be a first class city or home rule city, maintain local law enforcement, and meet or exceed its maximum license limit.
“And the reason they did not meet the requirements of that statute is because the City of Kodiak does not exercise planning or land use authority as required under that statute," Kubitz said.
That authority has been held by the Kodiak Island Borough on behalf of both municipalities since at least 1981.
Kubitz said her staff notified the city and the borough of the state’s decision at the end of August. She said there is still a path for the city to become eligible to receive more REPLs.
“The only way to possibly move the request forward to [ABC] Board consideration would be for the Kodiak Island Borough to give up its land use authority to the City of Kodiak, and then for the city to amend its resolution to state that," she explained.
Borough officials told KMXT that process would be complex and lengthy, with several unknowns, like how it would impact other land use issues if that authority is transferred to the city and how much it would cost both municipalities.
With the city’s request being essentially rejected, Kodiak’s local restaurant owners wanting to serve just beer and wine, without hard liquor, will be forced to negotiate with whoever holds the limited, pre-existing licenses.
The four REPLs in Kodiak are currently owned by Noodles, Sizzler Burger and Peking, Second Floor, and the Aquamarine restaurants. These licenses are separate from the Beverage Dispensary Licenses that allow for hard alcohol to be sold along with beer and wine which are mainly used by bars.
The Sizzler Burger and Peking Restaurant is in the midst of renewing its license with the state and is in jeopardy of having it revoked.
It is unclear when the board will make a decision on the restaurant’s license renewal request, but the ABC Board is scheduled to meet again on Nov. 19 in Anchorage.
