ALCOHOL AND GAMING COMMISSION OF ONTARIO
IN THE MATTER OF The: Liquor Licence Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.19, as amended
B E T W E E N:
Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario
Registrar
-and-
The Duke of Hillsburgh Tavern Inc. operating as or intending to operate as Duke of Hillsburgh Tavern (The)
Applicant
-and-
Dennis Kwasnicki
Objector
DECISION
Panel: Brian J. Ford, Board Member Allan Higdon, Board Member
Decision Date: , 2010
Hearing Location: Hillsburgh, Ontario
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario 90 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M2N 0A4 Phone: (416) 326-0366 Fax: (416) 326-5566 Toll Free In Ontario: 1-800-522-2876 Website: www.agco.on.ca
Appearances
Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission ) Rena Khan, Representative Duke of Hillsburgh Tavern, Applicant ) Eugene J. Bhattacharya, Representative Dennis Kwasnicki, Objector ) On his own behalf and on behalf of ) the resident objectors
The Application
- The Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (“AGCO”) issued Notice of Proposal number 18039 dated May 3, 2010 to refuse to remove conditions on liquor licence number 813866 of the Duke of Hillsburgh Tavern Inc., operating as or intending to operate as Duke of Hillsburgh Tavern (The), 1 Anne Street, RR #1, Hillsburgh, Ontario, N0B 1Z0, on the basis that the AGCO has received one or more written objections to the Application. A hearing of the application was held on June 16, 2010 in the City of Hillsburgh.
Decision
- After considering all the evidence and submissions the Board APPROVES the Application made by The Duke of Hillsburgh Tavern to amend conditions. Reasons follow.
Preliminary Matters
- Mr. Dennis Kwasnicki was made a party to the hearing and would act as representative for the objectors.
Applicant’s Evidence
Larry Van Wyck works for the Town of Erin as a Road Superintendent. He noted the town of Erin includes the town of Hillsburgh. Exhibit #1, a planning document showing road work in the town of Hillsburgh was entered into evidence.
Mr. Van Wyck stated the document showed the re-alignment of Mill St. after construction work on the road was completed.
Mr. Van Wyck stated the road work allowed for 41 additional parking spaces that were not there previously. It also allowed for an improved and safer flow of traffic.
Under cross-examination Mr. Van Wyck stated he did not live in the town of Hillsburgh. He stated the 41 parking spaces were public parking for the Arena and Community Centre. He noted the Baseball Diamond located behind the Duke of Hillsburgh is part of the community centre complex.
When questioned about parking in the town, he stated when events are taking place parking is always a problem.
When asked by the Board if there was sufficient parking, he replied that he could not say for sure if there would be adequate parking.
(”Cst.”) Jannette Bittner is an officer with the Ontario Provincial Police (the “OPP”) Detachment in Rockwood, Ontario, assigned to Community Policing.
Cst. Bittner was asked if she had received any complaints with regard to the Hillsburgh Tavern. Cst. Bittner stated that she had only three complaints with regard to the Tavern.
Cst. Bittner also stated in 2009 the owner of the establishment wanted to speak to her to show the effort that went into building the bar.
She also noted the owner of the establishment said the residents in the area were petitioning to stop the licence process saying that it was not a good place for this type of business.
Cst. Bittner stated when she met the applicant it appeared to be a family business, nice in appearance and a nice place to eat dinner. The liquor licence was to serve liquors for dinner patrons.
In March of 2010, Cst. Bittner stated she received a complaint from a Ms. P.S. who stated there were things going on at the Tavern that should not be. The complainant alleged young people were leaving the tavern with beer bottles in their hands. The youths got into the back of a pick-up and drove down Mill Street the wrong way.
Cst. Bittner also stated she was told that patrons were using the front door of the establishment during hours they were not allowed to and Ms. P.S. had difficulty sleeping because of the noise.
Cst. Bittner stated that she had little information to go on to do an investigation as the incidents had happened in the past and there was no other information supporting the complaints.
Cst. Bittner stated she patrolled the area and during her patrols had not observed any infractions taking place.
Under cross-examination Cst. Bittner stated that there were other establishments that were within a ten minute drive of Hillsburgh.
Cst. Bittner also stated she could not substantiate the complaints. The complaints were urination in public, and noise after midnight.
Kenneth Geddes, an AGCO Inspector works out of the London office of the AGCO and is responsible for liquor enforcement in the Hillsburgh area.
Inspector Geddes stated he visited the Duke of Hillsburgh nine times from June 2009 to May of 2010.
In June of 2009, his first inspection was for the purpose of inspecting the establishment prior to the issuance of the liquor licence. He stated that he did not speak to the owner at the time.
Inspector Geddes noted he spoke to the OPP responsible for policing the area regarding any concerns they might have. He also noted that there was a lot of construction at the time and the patio was not complete.
In November of 2009, Inspector Geddes spoke to the owner of the establishment regarding his licence and informed him of the conditions on the licence and explained risk-based licensing to him.
Inspector Geddes went back to the establishment several more times with respect to complaints that had been received, the majority of which were anonymous. The complaints were with regard to noise and people leaving by the front door after 10:00 p.m. contrary to a condition on the liquor licence.
Inspector Geddes stated during his visits to the premises, he found no evidence of any violations.