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Hearing Officer Decision: No New Club at Carnaval Site
The ruling on the liquor license application for a new club at the Club Carnaval site is in, and the judge has said NO. You can read a copy of the ruling by clicking here. In August, I joined the Sharpstown Civic Association, the City of Houston, City Council Member M.J. Khan, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), and local residents in testifying against the re-establishment of this club by a friend of the former owners. In a two-day hearing, Houston Police Officers made a strong case that a new club in the same facility would re-ignite gang activity in the area. I testified that it would be like "throwing a grenade into an ammo dump." This week's ruling by Administrative Law Judge Don Smith is technically only a recommendation to the TABC commissioners, who make the final ruling on liquor license applications. However, it would be very unusual for the commissioners not to follow the recommendation of the judge, especially since the commission staff also testified against the granting of this license. Any ruling by the commission is subject to challenge in district court, if the applicant chooses to take it that far. Sharpstown owes a big round of applause to Nirja Aiyer, who directed the legal side of the protest for the City of Houston and Mayor Bill White. Also special thanks to the Houston Police Department, whose officers compiled the records necessary to substantiate the protest and several of whom testified at the hearing. Sharpstown resident Matthew Caligur led the legal challenge for Sharpstown and we are fortunate to have his help on this issue. Council Member Khan first brought Carnaval to the attention of other local elected officials and personally testified at the hearing. And, thank you to Ramona Perry and the TABC Houston staff for their diligent work on this protest. The ruling was partially based on a new law that I passed in the last legislative session. TABC general counsel Lou Bright worked with Ms. Aiyer and me to write legislation to close loopholes that the city and TABC discovered during previous protests. In particular, the new law gave the TABC clear authority to deny a license based on the past history of the location, even if there was a change in ownership. If you read the ruling, you will see the new law referred to as Section 81.004 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code. The City of Houston's lobbyists worked with us to help pass the bill, which was co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of Houston legislators. Sen. John Whitmire led the effort in the Senate. As always, please let me know if you have questions or if I can provide any further information.
Scott Hochberg
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