Liquor, Land Items Added to Council Agenda

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A total of three items have been added on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 to the Ann Arbor city council’s Jan. 21, 2014 agenda since its initial publication earlier in the week.

One of the items is the approval of a $25,550 contract with Atwell LLC for environmental site assessment services to evaluate 2500 S. State St.  That’s the Edwards Brothers Malloy property for which the council is currently exploring options to purchase. The University of Michigan has made an offer to Edwards Brothers to purchase the property for $12.8 million, but the city has a right of first refusal. At its Jan. 6, 2014 meeting, the council directed the city administrator and the city attorney to explore options and gather information. So the site assessment by Atwell is part of that effort. The council is working within a 60-business-day window that began Nov. 27, 2013.

The other two items are related to liquor licenses. The council will be asked to approve a recommendation that the Michigan Liquor Control Commission approve a special downtown development liquor license for the Lunch Room at 407 N. Fifth Avenue. That category of license was made available by the Michigan legislature in 2006 for cities that established districts where such licenses would be granted. The requirements include investment in the rehabilitation of the building that houses the establishment seeking the license, and a determination that the recipient of the license be recommended “above all others.”

And the council will be asked to approve a change in the classification of Silvio’s Organic Pizza license from a Tavern License to a Class C License. A key difference between a Class C license and a Tavern License is that a Class C license allows the sale and consumption of not just beer and wine, but also liquor. Silvio’s is located at 715 N. University Ave.

For a preview of other Jan. 21, 2014 agenda items, see The Chronicle’s report: “Jan. 21, 2014 Ann Arbor Council: Preview.“