§60-7-4a. Notice of application for license to be given to municipal clerk or recorder; duties of clerk or recorder; consistency with zoning and community development programs; authority of commissioner.

A person intending to apply for a license to operate a private club under the provisions of this article at any location within a municipality shall file a notice of such intention with the clerk or recorder of such municipality at least ten days prior to filing an application for such a license with the commissioner. Such notice shall include the address and a general description of the premises to be licensed, the food services to be offered and the patron capacity of the club. The clerk or recorder of the municipality shall report such notice to the governing body of such municipality at its next regular meeting or special meeting to be held not sooner than two days thereafter, together with a report of the zoning administrator for such municipality, if there be any as to whether:

(1) The proposed location of said private club is consistent with the zoning ordinances as either a permitted use or a conditional use of such premises; and

(2) The premises are situate in an area designated for the use of community development block grant funds in the municipality, and, if so situate, whether the planned use of the premises is consistent with any plan adopted by the governing body for revitalization or rehabilitation of such area.

Within ten days of such report, the governing body may submit written comment upon such intended use to the commissioner, who shall deny the license upon a finding that the use of the premises is neither a permitted nor a conditional use under the zoning ordinances of such municipality and that the municipality provides within its business zones suitable alternative locations. The commissioner may deny the license upon a finding that such use is incompatible with any plan adopted by the governing body for revitalization or rehabilitation of the area wherein such premises are situate. The municipality shall not unreasonably exclude a use of the premises which is compatible with such plan or zoning ordinance solely because the use includes premises licensed under this article.