Citrus Heights council gives green light for beer house

Sentinel staff report–
The Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a required letter that will allow for a proposed beer house to obtain a license to sell alcohol.

A public hearing held prior to the council’s May 25 vote was uneventful, with only one public comment being voiced by a nearby resident.

“There are brewpubs everywhere: Roseville must have 50 of them, Sacramento County has countless, and Citrus Heights is kind of just an empty ‘blah’,” the resident said. “We need more businesses like this.”

Two representatives from Humle Beer House also spoke during the meeting, answering questions from the council about proposed hours of operations and other details.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people that are excited to bring craft beer to Citrus Heights and so we thought we’d bring it in a really professional way, and we’re excited — hopefully — to open our taproom,” said Owen Roswald, who told the council he is planning to open the taproom with a friend.

As previously reported, Humle Beer House is proposed to be located at 7086 Auburn Blvd., Suite 100, formerly home to a yogurt shop. According to documents submitted to the city, the establishment plans to offer up to 22 taps of craft beer for on and off-site consumption, with hours of operation beginning no earlier than 11 a.m. and closing no later than 9 p.m. on weekends.

Roswald confirmed the beer house does not have plans to offer food, at least initially. He also said closing hours could be extended at a later time, but said his goal is to not create “just another bar.” Music will be provided inside, but with no amplification.

The taproom is seeking a Type 42 alcohol license to serve locally crafted beer in a casual environment, but a staff report shows the area is currently deemed “over-concentrated” in terms of alcohol licenses by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC).

Due to the over-concentration classification, a Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity (PCN) from the City Council is needed before a license can be issued. The review process involves assessing site problems, criminal activity, building code compliance, health violations, and ABC complaints.

Although there are currently eight on-sale establishments within the census tract, only one is a bar, located 1.2 miles away from the proposed location, with the remainder being restaurants.

A letter from the Police Department attached to a city staff report indicates that a review was conducted which included inspection of the proposed site, review of nearby businesses with alcohol licenses, and analysis of previous calls at that location. The letter also stated that the site will be brightly lit, offering improved security, and that the Police Department “does not object” to alcohol sales being approved for the location.