Ventura Municipal Code Art. 3 Existing Establishments Revised

A. Except as otherwise provided herein, any alcoholic beverage establishment lawfully operating prior to the initial effective date of this chapter pursuant to an ABC license that authorizes the retail sale of alcoholic beverages for on-site or off-site consumption shall be issued a use permit or director permit pursuant to this chapter and shall thereafter be a deemed approved establishment that may continue to lawfully operate under such use permit or director permit provided the operation is conducted in compliance with the operational standards and any applicable training requirement set forth in Article 4 of this chapter, and has paid the annual permit fee required by Article 5 of this chapter.

B. Reserved.

C. Any modification of a deemed approved establishment or the discontinuance of a deemed approved establishment for six or more months shall require approval of a new use permit or director permit in compliance with this chapter. (Ord. No. 2019-006, § 2, 6-10-19; Ord. No. 2025-005, § 2, 11-18-25)

Within 30 days following the initial effective date of this chapter, the community development director shall:

A. Notify the owner of each deemed approved establishment within the city of the establishment’s deemed approved status, and provide the owner with a use permit or director permit authorizing the establishment to lawfully continue its operation in the manner required by this chapter;

B. Provide the owner of the deemed approved establishment with a copy of the provisions of this chapter and call the owner’s attention to the requirement that the deemed approved establishment be operated in accordance with the operational standards set forth in Article 4 of this chapter; and

C. Provide the owner of the deemed approved establishment with a copy of the permit fees adopted by the city council in accordance with Article 5 of this chapter, and advise the owner of the amount and due date of the deemed approved establishment’s annual permit fee. (Ord. No. 2019-006, § 2, 6-10-19; Ord. No. 2025-005, § 2, 11-18-25)

Every owner of a deemed approved establishment shall post a copy of all of the operational standards set forth in Article 4 of this chapter in at least one prominent place within the interior of the establishment where it will be readily visible and legible to the employees, and make available a copy upon request to a city official. (Ord. No. 2019-006, § 2, 6-10-19; Ord. No. 2025-005, § 2, 11-18-25)