Legal Documents of Gatlinburg

Code of Gatlinburg

Table of Contents » Title 8 Alcoholic Beverages » Chapter 3 Beer » § 8-317 Hearings; revocations or suspension of permit; civil penalties.
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Title 8
8-1
Title 8, Chapter 1
8-101
§ 8-101
Gatlinburg
Title 8 : Alcoholic Beverages
Chapter 3 : Beer

8-317 : Hearings; revocations or suspension of permit; civil penalties.

  1. Authority to revoke or suspend. The board is hereby granted the power to revoke or suspend any beer permit, or to refer to a hearing officer to adjudicate issues relating to the suspension or revocation of a beer permit and/or the issuance of fines, where the permit holder:
    1. Has violated any of the provisions of this chapter; or
    2. Has been found guilty of violating one (1) or more provisions of the Gatlinburg city code;
    3. Is convicted of any violation of the laws of the United States or the state prohibiting or regulating the manufacture, sale, possession, storage, or transportation of beer or other alcoholic beverages; or

    4. Is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.

      The board is hereby authorized to engage a licensed attorney to act as a hearing officer on behalf of the board.

  2. Length of suspension; permanent revocation.
    1. Discretion of board or board hearing officer. Except as otherwise provided by this article or state law, the board and the board hearing officer may exercise discretion in determining whether to suspend or revoke a permit and in determining the appropriate length of a suspension under the circumstances presented in each case. In making these determinations, the board or board hearing officer shall consider the effectiveness of any sanction previously imposed against the permit holder.
    2. Minimum and maximum suspensions.
      1. First offense in a twelve (12) month period. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no permit shall be suspended for more than ten (10) days, if the violation is by the permit holder or the permit holder's manager, or for more than five (5) days, if the violation is by a permit holder's non-managerial employee, provided that neither the permit holder nor any of the permit holder's employees has committed another violation of this chapter in the previous twelve (12) months.
      2. Subsequent offenses in a twelve (12) month period. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a permit shall be revoked or suspended for a minimum of three (3) days if either the permit holder, the permit holder's manager, or any of the permit holder's employees has committed another violation of this chapter in the previous twelve (12) months.
    3. Revocation.
      1. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no permit may be revoked unless the permit holder has committed at least two (2) violations of this chapter in a twelve (12) month period.
      2. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or state law, the board or the board hearing officer shall revoke a permit holder's permit if either the board or the board hearing officer finds that beer has been sold on the permitted premises to persons under the age of eighteen (18) on two (2) or more occasions in a twelve (12) month period or on three (3) or more occasions in a twenty-four (24) month period.
  3. Exception; sale by a responsible vendor's clerk to person under the age of twenty-one (21).
    1. A permit shall not be revoked or suspended because of the sale of beer to a person under the age of twenty-one (21) if, at the time of the sale:
      1. The permit holder was a responsible vendor; and
      2. The clerk who made the sale was a certified clerk, or had been employed by the permit holder for sixty-one (61) days or less.
    2. Notwithstanding subsection (a), if the commission revokes the permit holder's responsible vendor's certification pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, § 57-5-608(b) because the permit holder had knowledge of or should have known about the violation, or participated in or committed the violation, the permit holder shall be punished under this section as if the vendor were not certified as a responsible vendor at the time of the sale.
  4. Exception; sale by vendor not certified as a responsible vendor to person between eighteen (18) and twenty-one (21) years of age.
    1. A permit shall not be revoked because the permit holder or the permit holder's employee or agent sells beer to a minor over the age of eighteen (18) years, if such minor exhibits an identification, false or otherwise, indicating the minor's age to be twenty-one (21) or over, if the minor's appearance as to maturity is such that the minor might reasonably be presumed to be of such age and the minor is unknown to such person making the sale.
    2. In the case of an illegal sale such as that described in subsection (4)(a), a permit holder's permit may be suspended for a period not to exceed ten (10) days or a civil penalty up to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) may be imposed.
  5. Civil penalty-responsible vendor. The board or the board hearing officer may impose a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each offense of selling or permitting the sale of beer to a person under the age of twenty-one (21) or for any other violation of this chapter or applicable state law. A penalty imposed under this subsection shall be paid within seven (7) days of the imposition of the penalty. Failure to pay the penalty within seven (7) days shall constitute a violation of this chapter subject to prosecution under subsection (4) above.
  6. Civil penalty- vendor not certified as a responsible vendor.
    1. The board or the board hearing officer, upon finding grounds for revoking or suspending a permit holder's permit, may offer a permit holder who is not certified as a responsible vendor the alternative of paying:
      1. A civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for each offense of selling or permitting the sale of beer to a person under the age of twenty-one (21); or
      2. A civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for any other offense.
    2. If a civil penalty is offered as alternative to revocation or suspension, the permit holder shall have seven (7) days within which to pay the civil penalty before the revocation or suspension shall be imposed. If the civil penalty is paid within that time, the revocation or suspension shall be deemed withdrawn. The permit holder's payment of a civil penalty shall not affect the holder's ability to seek review of the civil penalty pursuant to state law.
  7. Hearing required. No permit shall be revoked or suspended or penalty imposed until a public hearing is held either before the board or the board hearing officer after reasonable notice to all the known parties in interest. (1976 Code, § 2-217, as replaced by Ord. #2497, June 2016)
Date Last Updated: 03/23/2022
Codification Date: 03/01/2000

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Mike Werner

Vice Mayor - Mark McCown

Commissioner - Ryan DeSear

Commissioner - Chad Reagan

Commissioner - Kirby Smith

City Manager - Cindy Cameron Ogle

City Attorney - Ronald E. Sharp

Date Last Updated: 03/23/2022
Codification Date: 03/01/2000

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Mike Werner

Vice Mayor - Mark McCown

Commissioner - Ryan DeSear

Commissioner - Chad Reagan

Commissioner - Kirby Smith

City Manager - Cindy Cameron Ogle

City Attorney - Ronald E. Sharp