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Record of Proceedings

Naperville Liquor Commission Special Meeting – April 8, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, April 8, 2025
BodyNaperville, Illinois
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:22

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0:44

Good afternoon.

0:45

Welcome to the April 8th Neighborville Liquor Commission meeting.

0:50

A special meeting today, roll call.

0:52

Jericho.

0:54

Here.

0:54

Douglas?

0:55

Here, Signorella?

0:56

Here.

0:57

Stoffer?

0:58

Here.

0:59

Oh, sorry.

1:00

Not Stoffer.

1:01

Um McGuri?

1:02

Here.

1:02

Coranda?

1:03

Here.

1:04

D.

1:05

Here.

1:05

If I may first uh get a motion to allow Commissioner Stauffer to join us telephonically due to work uh commit uh commitment.

1:14

So move.

1:15

Second second.

1:16

All in favor?

1:17

Aye.

1:18

Aye.

1:19

Thank you.

1:19

Commissioner Staffer, can you hear us?

1:23

Yes.

1:23

All right, great, thank you.

1:24

First item on the agenda today.

1:26

This should be a fairly abbreviated jet agenda, but we'll go through it in order.

1:30

Is our public form?

1:31

There's anybody here to speak.

1:32

Uh that uh item that's not on the agenda, please uh uh step forward or indicate so that raising your hand.

1:39

Okay, seeing none, we will move forward to old business.

1:42

First item is our uh approval of the regular commission meeting minutes of February 6th, 2025.

1:49

Uh any questions, comments, or changes.

1:52

If not, if I can have a motion to approve those mission minutes.

1:56

Motion to approve.

1:57

Second.

1:58

Uh Douglas and McGurrie.

2:01

Uh all in favor?

2:02

Aye.

2:03

Aye.

2:03

Opposed?

2:06

Commissioner.

2:07

Motion carried.

2:08

Uh Commissioner D, you have been sworn in, correct?

2:11

Yes.

2:12

Okay.

2:13

Thank you.

2:14

Um next item on the agenda is uh consider buttermilk's request for a variance to uh sell co-branded bottles of liquor.

2:22

And uh we will go ahead and re refer this uh Jennifer, if you can step in.

2:28

As you may recall at the last meeting, um buttermilk ha is seeking to sell for off-premises consumption, small bottles of whiskey um that they got from a special barrel.

2:40

At the time, um we kind of were trying to decide where to put that particular request in.

2:47

And so the recommendation was to s request a variance to the S1 uh square footage requirements, and also they're seeking a recommendation to increase the cap on the S1 license from one to two.

2:59

They did submit a variance request.

3:01

After reviewing it, it was initially for the Class D license.

3:04

They submitted an amended variance request for the class S1 license.

3:09

And um, if the petitioner wanted to come forward and explain their request, hi, good morning or afternoon now.

3:25

I'm Cindy Krause.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Liquor Licensing█████████████████████████████████████████████82%
Public Safety█████10%
Procedural███6%
Cannabis Regulation█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Naperville Liquor Commission Special Meeting – April 8, 2025

The Naperville Liquor Commission held a special meeting on April 8, 2025, at 3:00 PM in Council Chambers. Commissioners voted on two text amendments to be forwarded to the City Council and received routine reports on DUI incidents and liquor concept applications. All votes were recorded with Commissioner Stauffer participating telephonically and Mayor Wehrli absent.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (25-0477): The regular Liquor Commission meeting minutes of February 6, 2025, were approved unanimously by voice vote.

Discussion Items

  • Buttermilk’s Variance Request (25-0175B): Buttermilk, a restaurant, requested a variance to sell co‑branded bottles of Journeyman whiskey for off‑premises consumption under a Class S1 license. The request required a text amendment to increase the S1 cap from one to two and a variance from square footage requirements. The district manager, Cindy Krause, stated the display would be a locked, 24×24‑inch glass case accessible only by managers, with no tastings or on‑site consumption. Commissioner Signorella moved to approve the variance and refer a text amendment to City Council, adding license language requiring a secure case. Commissioner Koranda opposed, citing precedent concerns. Senior Assistant City Attorney Bonner clarified the variance is non‑transferable and each future request would be reviewed case‑by‑case. The motion carried 4‑3 (Ayes: Chirico, Dy, McGury, Signorella; Nays: Douglas, Koranda, Stauffer).
  • Removal of City BASSET Requirement (25-0479): Due to state restrictions preventing municipalities from combining local rules with state BASSET training, the Commission considered removing the requirement for city‑provided BASSET training. The proposed text amendment would require all employees to complete the state BASSET program from any certified provider and also complete the City of Naperville’s new online “Local Liquor Laws Essential” class. After discussion, Commissioner Koranda moved to approve the text amendment with a 15‑day deadline (from state certification) for completing the local class. Commissioner Douglas noted the state online BASSET costs $12 per person, while the city’s local class will be free. Detective Creighton confirmed the local class will be a self‑paced online slideshow. The motion carried 7‑0.

Reports

  • DUI Reports (January–March 2025): Detective Creighton presented statistics: January 2025 – 15 DUIs (vs. 10 in Jan 2024); February 2025 – 13 (vs. 23 in Feb 2024); March 2025 – 20 (vs. 11 in Mar 2024). Commissioner Chirico noted March showed an increase over 2024. Detective Creighton explained that some arrests occur below the 0.08 BAC threshold based on observed driving impairment and field sobriety tests.
  • Liquor Concept Committee Report (February–March 2025): Budget and Administrative Manager Ozkaptan reported three concepts in progress: Casey’s retail (gas station, Class G), Tollywood Lounge (full‑service Indian restaurant/sports bar at former Aurelio’s location), and Clubhouse 540 (golf simulator, Class M recreational license). Clubhouse 540 will need a future cap increase.

Key Outcomes

  • Buttermilk variance approved (4‑3) and referred to City Council with a recommendation to adopt a text amendment increasing the S1 license cap and adding a secure‑case provision. The variance applies only to this business.
  • BASSET requirement removal approved (7‑0) and referred to City Council. The new ordinance will require state BASSET certification plus a free online Naperville local laws class completed within 15 days of hire.
  • Meeting adjourned at approximately 3:50 PM by voice vote.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Welcome to the April 8th Neighborville Liquor Commission meeting. A special meeting today, roll call. Jericho. Here. Douglas? Here, Signorella? Here. Stoffer? Here. Oh, sorry. Not Stoffer. Um McGuri? Here. Coranda? Here. D. Here. If I may first uh get a motion to allow Commissioner Stauffer to join us telephonically due to work uh commit uh commitment. So move. Second second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you. Commissioner Staffer, can you hear us? Yes. All right, great, thank you. First item on the agenda today. This should be a fairly abbreviated jet agenda, but we'll go through it in order. Is our public form? There's anybody here to speak. Uh that uh item that's not on the agenda, please uh uh step forward or indicate so that raising your hand. Okay, seeing none, we will move forward to old business. First item is our uh approval of the regular commission meeting minutes of February 6th, 2025. Uh any questions, comments, or changes. If not, if I can have a motion to approve those mission minutes. Motion to approve. Second. Uh Douglas and McGurrie. Uh all in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Commissioner. Motion carried. Uh Commissioner D, you have been sworn in, correct? Yes. Okay. Thank you.

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