Prior to 2019, the Beer Board historically relied upon a board approval method termed "Grant and Delay." This method allowed the staff to bring an incomplete application before the board and allowed the board to grant final approval of the application (based upon a staff recommendation), pending the completion of any outstanding requirements. Along with this method, the board also required any applicant to submit a letter requesting deferral for each meeting until the applicant obtained final approval. This resulted in longer agendas, longer board meetings, and a somewhat confusing process.
In the latter part of 2018, the board streamlined the application process, moving away from the grant/delay method and utilizing temporary permits. M.C.L. 7.08.030G¹ enables the Executive Director to issue a temporary permit for up to thirty (30) days at a time, without requiring board approval. This allows the Executive Director to issue a temporary permit to any applicant they will recommend for final approval at the next scheduled board meeting. This also allows a business to start operating immediately; whereas, under the previous process, an applicant may have been waiting to open for several weeks once their application was complete.
Along with this change in the grant / delay method, the board no longer requires an applicant to update the board regularly regarding the status of their application. In prior years, the applicant would have to submit a letter prior to each meeting, requesting that their application be deferred until the next meeting. This would result in unnecessary gridlock during each board meeting. Today, the applicant submits their application to the staff, the matter is then placed on the next agenda for initial consideration, then any incomplete application is automatically given a status of "indefinite deferral."² The onus is then on the applicant to complete the application process and formally request that the application be included on the next regularly scheduled board agenda for final approval.
These changes have resulted in shorter lines at the beer board office, and a shorter timeline between submitting the initial application and opening for business. This is just one more way the beer board team is working to make the processes and procedures work for you!
¹M.C.L. 7.08.030 Types of permits. The following types of permits may be issued by the metropolitan beer permit board: G. The board may authorize the executive director of the metropolitan beer permit board to issue temporary permits not to exceed thirty days duration in any of the above categories under such terms and conditions as the board may establish not inconsistent with this title.
²Beer Board Rule 1.09 Stale Applications – If an application has not been granted or denied within six months, it may be administratively closed and denied by the Beer Permit Board.