Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the hearing and approve the hearing officer’s recommendation to deny the business license application submitted by Alsace Lorraine Fine Pastries, Inc., dba Alsace Lorraine Fine Pastries, located at 4334 Atlantic Avenue.  (District 8)
Great. And so as the order of these things go, we have our hearings first, then we go on to public comment and then the agenda on the council. So we'll begin we have two hearings tonight and will begin with the I guess we're doing hearing to first, from what I understand. So we'll go ahead and Madam Clerk. Report from financial management recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the hearing and approve the hearing officer's recommendation to deny the business license application submitted by Alsace-Lorraine Fine Pastries located at 4334 Atlantic Avenue District eight Oath is required. Thank you. I think we're doing the oath. Okay. Everyone is going to testify. Please raise your right hand. You and each of you do solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the cause now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God. Okay with that, I'm gonna introduce. I'm sorry, sir. I'll call up speakers in just a minute. That's fine. Thank you, sir. I'm here on behalf. Of all Sis Lorraine. Okay, we'll have. We'll have you up and just. Just a seat right here in the front, sir. We'll call you right up. So first up is going to be our presentation from city staff. So with that, I'm going introduce Mr. tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The staff report for city staff will be given by Brett Jaquez, our business services officer, for this item. Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council. Tonight you have before you a recommendation to uphold the hearing officer's decision to deny the business license application for all Lorain Fine Pastries Inc doing business as all six Lorain Fine Pastries located at 433 four Atlantic Avenue. Applying as a bakery in Council District eight on August 9th, 2016, the City Council referred the appeal of the business license application denial to a hearing officer. The appeal hearing was held on September seven, 2016, and the hearing officer submitted their written recommendation to the City Clerk's office on September 9th, 2016. The basis for the denial is due to the property owner not having the required commercial industrial rental license to lease any of the addresses on their parcel. The answer address is contained on the property owners. Pass parcel of land included. 433224336 Atlantic Avenue. The property owner previously had their license revoked on April 19, 2012, due to the operation of an illegal marijuana dispensary at 4332 Atlantic Avenue. To this point, the city is unable to reinstate the commercial industrial rental license to the property owner due to the substantial amount of outstanding fines, penalties and liens attached to the property and owed to the city of Long Beach resulting from the operation of the illegal dispensary. Nonetheless, all city slurring Fine Pastries Inc has been operating on the parcel for approximately two years without a business license. Therefore, staff request the City Council uphold the recommendation by the hearing officer and deny the business license application for all. Six Loraine Fine Pastries Inc. I as well as the City Attorney's Office, stand ready to answer any questions council may have. And that concludes staff's report. Thank you. With that, we're going to allow the attorney who's here to represent I'll see Lorraine make comments. There's I know there's a reasonable amount of time, period. So if it's 10 minutes okay for you, sir. Okay. Thank you. And I appreciate the council's time and in permitting me to speak to this issue. I think it's interesting that I follow a proclamation that the city of Long Beach is in the running for being the most business friendly city in the state of California. I think this situation and the what it presents to the city council gives the opportunity to put its money where its mouth is and demonstrate that it is, in fact a business friendly city. I represent all six Lorraine's Fine Pastries Inc. They run a bakery that they have. They purchased that bakery, and they have run it lawfully ever since. They have a current health permit from the city of Long Beach that has been renewed. They have never had it suspended for any reason whatsoever. The very thing that one would be concerned about with regard to a bakery, namely that it provides products that are safe to consume, has never been in question, as was indicated by in the testimony of the a person on behalf of the city. The only reason why Alsace-Lorraine Spine Pastries Inc has not been granted a a license to operate, and it wants to have a license to operate. It wants to pay taxes. It wants to be the corporate citizen it's already behaving as. And it's being prevented because of something involving its landlord. A historical problem that its landlord has, and I understand continues to have with the city of Long Beach over some unpaid fines from a period of time 2 to 3 years ago, plus on a different piece of property. Not all cease Lorraine's pastry, but the adjacent property, a dispensary that used to run that was in violation of 5.89 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. That dispensary has since been closed for approaching two years now. Yet for some reason, this denial of this license for all sales continues to be a vestige of a left over issue that doesn't even involve all case, but rather involves the landlord for the building that all six rents. All the owners of all six fine pastries were unaware of this issue. They are not they did not even come to own the business, nor come to rent the property until long after the dispensary was removed. Yet here they find themselves being unable to get a piece of paper from the from the city council that says you're allowed to operate and and participate as a member of the of the corporate community. The business itself, though the current owners have only owned the property, have only been owners for a couple of years. But excuse me, I believe about a year and a half now that all says bakery has been at that location for decades. I would venture to say that probably many people in this in this room have been to that pastry store. It's right on. It's right on Atlantic Avenue, a major thoroughfare. And I believe that it falls within District eight, Mr. Alston's district, and has had no issues whatsoever with this operation. It's never been cited for anything. It's never been shut down. It's never been closed. It's never had anything other than a exemplary grade for its for the quality of its products and the fact that there is an existing dispute between the landlord of the building and the city where the landlord is, as we understand it, unable to legally rent or at least doesn't have a license to rent because he's certainly renting and he's certainly receiving rents from the city, from the from all, say, Lorraine's fine pastries ultimately. You have a business that's there. It's running. It's running pursuant to a health health license that the county's given it. And all it wants is it is its license to operate its business. We have had to file litigation, in fact, on the on the city council's agenda meeting for a closed and closed session item number four on that agenda all says Lorain Fine Pastries Inc versus City of Long Beach. Is that lawsuit. That lawsuit goes away. If this body grants all say, salary and find pastries, it's license to operate its bakery. You get rid of one of those lawsuits just by doing that and will and will waive attorney's fees and will waive everything else. If you just give them back their it just give them their license and let them operate. As it stands right now, unless the city council does that, my client has no choice but to continue that litigation and continue to keep the city of Long Beach involved. I am asking the City Council to use common sense here and not allow a dispute that exists between its land, the landlord of this building and the city to affect the ability of one of its tenants to be able to do business, pay taxes and be a good corporate citizen in the city of Long Beach, as that business has been for well over 50 years. I'm open. Any questions? If the city council has any? Okay. Thank you, sir. We're going to turn this over to the council and then if there are questions, I'll let you know, sir. So certainly. Thank you. Okay. With that, I'm to turn this over to Councilmember Austin. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I want to thank our city staff for their diligence and hard work on this matter over the years. This is a very. Unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in. I do have a couple of clarifying questions before I make my motion and recommendation, and that is to staff regarding the what has been represented by the business in question, their attorney representing them. What? Was there a nexus between the property owner and the business in question? Is there a nexus? The property owner was the former owner of the bakery, also offering pastries or not clearing features, but of also exploring the property. And his name was Mr. Know. He was also the owner of the bakery at one point in time before it was sold. Okay. So when was the transaction to sell the property? We received the application or the first notice that we were aware, and a new operator was looking to operate that bakery on July six, 2016. Okay. And the the fines on the property permits win. And up until what point? The fines on the property. Sorry. The fines on the property started on March 13, 2012 and ended on August 9th, 2014. And so the the property owner missed their no, I believe his name is was the owner of I'll say Lorraine during that period of time. That's correct. And then the property turn switched ownership. The property owner is still the same person, but the bakery business. A new application was received for the bakery. Okay, so the what's before us is a recommendation to deny the business license and application submitted by the the the business all, says Lorraine Fine pastries. That's correct. Okay. Has there been any has missed? Has the property owner reached out to the city in any way during this period of time to discuss any sort of settlement agreement? No, he is not. That's a mistake. Well, hold on. Actually, sir, that that's not the way it works. So I think there has been outreaches by the city to the property owner to resolve the the leans. As of January 5th, June 15th, there are eight liens against the property of $604,000 with penalties and interest is currently over $1.1 million and there's been no substantial offer or issued to resolve those. I think. Did you say that the city has made offers? No. The city has indicated a willingness to discuss it, but we have not received any kind of offer to resolve those lines. Okay. Well, I'm a little bit challenged by that. I will just say that I am I'm aware of this this property, this location. It is definitely created a great deal of consternation in my district for during a period of time in question here, where the property owner was fined. On several occasions, I've had no opportunity to to meet the property owner or to be in any conversation whatsoever with him about this matter. I'm concerned that there, um, there hasn't been a willingness of the property owner, at least what has been represented to us here today to enter into some sort of settlement negotiations. But, you know, I think in in good faith, in spirit, because this is this is a very, very serious decision before the city council. I would recommend and I'd like to make a motion that we continue this item for 30 days and allow such a conversation to be had, or at least open the door for that and come back and see where we are on this. So that's my emotion. Okay. There's there's a motion any second on the floor with that. Let me go ahead and add any public comment on the hearing separate of those that did the oath. Okay. So close public comments on the hearing. And let me go back to the council for any other comments or discussions. Sir, this is not that. I used to counsel. No, I also. I'm sorry. You're not city council. I guess I. No problem. No problem. Yes, different one. So is there any other. No other city council comments? Mr. Gringa, on your second year of anything? No. I think that Councilmember also has it correct that we should offer an opportunity for a last chance opportunity, if you will, to settle this. Okay. There's a motion in a second to I believe it was 30 days. Is that right, Mr. Austin? Okay. Members, please go and cast your vote. Moshe Karis. Okay, thank you. Moving on to hearing number one, please. No. Actually, we're going to wait for hearing, number one for some folks to get here for that idea. We're going to be on the public comment. So I'm going to have the once I call your name, please line up in this order.