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City: no liquor at Ivy's Cafe OLCC gets recommendation from Central Point By SUSAN JAY CENTRAL POINT -- The City Council Thursday stuck to its earlier decision to recommend denial of a liquor license for Ivy's Cafe, owned by Purple Parrot of Oregon LLC. The council gave thumbs up to City Administrator Jim Bennett's letter to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission's local investigator. Bennett's letter said the city already has enough liquor outlets. Sixteen businesses sell liquor, and eight of them are within two blocks of Ivy's. He also cited Ivy's close proximity -- within 500 feet -- to a church, a day-care center and the city's youth center. Safety was another concern, Bennett said, referring to robberies at Purple Parrots in Central Point and Jackson County. "This is excellent; I don't know we could improve on it," Councilwoman Donna Higginbotham said of the letter. Dave Thomason, owner of Purple Parrot of Oregon LLC., said last week that if the OLCC denies his license he would considering appealing the decision. He has also said that people have a misconception of his clientele, who are mostly women who want someplace other than a bar to play video poker. In an interview before the council meeting, Brian Schmitz, OLCC regional manager, said, "We're going to try and do what we can to go along with the city, but we also have to justify our decision based on case law. "What we have to do is show specifically why it's not in the interest of the community," Schmitz said. There is no case law regarding the number of liquor establishments in a specific area, he said. The commission is concerned about saturation, however, because other cities have voiced the same complaint as Central Point. The commission will convene a task force to investigate the issue soon, Schmitz said. A state legislator from Springfield also plans to introduce a bill that would give cities more say in the awarding of liquor licenses. A more effective way for cities to deal with the location of liquor businesses is through zoning laws, Schmitz said. The local OLCC investigator will verify the city's statements and make a recommendation, which Schmitz will review and then send to the state liquor commission, which will make the decision on the license. The process can take a minimum of 90 days. In other business, the council: Approved changing the council's monthly meetings to the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Councilwoman Carol Fischer opposed the move, as did the owners of the Old Center Cafe, who spoke against the change. Earlier, they submitted signatures from customers who also opposed changing the meetings. Agreed with a staff recommendation that the city absorb a water rate increase from the Medford Water Commission rather than pass it on to residents. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA