The City of Cape Town intends to adopt an entirely new by-law to control the sale of liquor.
|||Cape Town - If it’s a 3am tipple you’re after your best bet, in terms of the City of Cape Town’s proposed new liquor trading by-law, is Cape Town International Airport which will be able to trade 24/7.
But the good news for consumers who work late is that the city is taking a new look at the stringent trading hours it set out in its 2012 by-law, and by the end of the year will consider applications from outlets wanting to sell alcohol after 6pm and on Sundays.
The City of Cape Town intends to adopt an entirely new by-law to control the sale of liquor following concerns raised by businesses and residents about trading hours.
The by-law, to be known as the Control of Undertakings that Sell Liquor to the Public by-law, will repeal all existing city by-laws that deal with the sale of alcohol. It will also give the city’s law enforcement arm the authority to take action against the owners of unlicensed outlets.
The city’s planning portfolio committee agreed on Tuesday at a special meeting that the by-law should be considered in tandem with policy to guide how the legislation should be implemented, as well as a new strategy to deal with substance abuse.
Chris O’Connor, of the technical task team responsible for drawing up the by-law, said: “We can’t rely on a by-law to address substance abuse. We also need a policy and a strategy. The city on its own can’t do all of it.”
Various comments and suggestions have been considered by the planning committee and will be included in the draft of the new by-law which will be available for public comment from September.
Although the committee has heeded the call from the more than 600 respondents who took part in the first round of public participation in May, to allow extended trading hours and days, it refused to extend a 24-hour trading allowance to GrandWest casino.
Councillor Dave Bryant said a large number of visitors to the casino, who had problems with gambling and alcohol, would sit there until all hours and would be a danger on the road.
He said the casino could still apply to extend its hours from 2am to 4am.
GrandWest said it had adopted the trading hours set out in the existing by-law in January, and to date had received no complaints. “We were granted an extension to serve alcohol between the hours of 11am and 4am the following day. We will abide by whatever laws the city puts in place.”
It was agreed that the airport, frequented by international visitors, should be allowed to sell alcohol at all hours. However, this would only apply to establishments accessible once passengers had passed through customs.
Hotel guests would also be able to order alcohol with their room service.
The responsibility for ensuring that patrons do not consume alcohol beyond permitted selling times will now rest with licensees. They will also have to comply with city guidelines in terms of signage, safety and security and noise.
The new by-law differs significantly from the Liquor Trading Days and Hours by-law of 2010 that was amended in 2012.
During a round of public participation in April, 90 percent of respondents supported extended trading hours on Sundays.
O’Connor said in the report to the planning portfolio committee that the 2012 by-law places emphasis only on the hours and days of trade. The new by-law also details the powers of the city to control undertakings.
Proposed by-law:
* A licensee may apply for an extension of trading hours from 11am to 4am the following day, for in-house consumption at the outlet, and from 9am to 8pm for off-consumption outlets. This is an extension of two hours in both cases. Establishments in residential areas where alcohol is consumed on-site will not be able to apply for extended trading times.
* The new by-law will limit the amount of alcohol that can be sold to a person who does not have a liquor licence to 150 litres.
* The city will be able to suspend, amend and revoke trading days and hours that have already been approved. It will also be able to seize alcohol and enforce temporary closure of an outlet. But the committee agreed that it should not take more than 15 days for the business to make a representation and for the council to make a final decision, so that traders were not “kept in suspense”.
anel.lewis@inl.co.za
Cape Argus