With a packed chamber of citizens showing their support, Comox council unanimously approved that a liquor primary licence be issued for the proposed Church Taphouse pub, located at 215 Church St.
The town is asked by the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) to comment on the liquor primary application. Council had the option to either ‘opt out’ of considering the application, or gather the views of residents, and provide a resolution commenting on a variety of criteria including location, hours of liquor service, capacity and noise.
Mayor Paul Ives explained the town does not make the final decision on licensing, but gathers public comments and passes them along to the branch.
Ben Davies, along with his partners Chris Morrison, Adam Duncan and Craig Grant, noted in their application they propose the existing building be demolished and rebuilt with new materials, but Davies told council they are still in preliminary talks, and are open to further discussion about the building itself, if the licence is approved.
The town received more than 235 submissions from residents, the majority were in support of the development; concerns highlighted were primarily focused on parking.
Coun. Hugh MacKinnon inquired why parking was not a concern for staff.
“Council took the parking requirements away from pubs some years ago,” answered Richard Kanigan, the Town’s chief administrative officer. “It was deemed an excess of parking, as most of the clientele was after-hours. (Parking) would mostly be an enforcement issue on our part. It’s part of the growing pains of a community.”
The decision is now passed along to the LCLB for approval.