Christian Mills’ attempt to secure Oxford Township’s last two liquor licenses ended with mixed results last week.

He applied for both a Tavern License for the Urban Air trampoline park and a Class C liquor license for 925 Legacy Entertainment, LCC, a bar/restaurant.

Both are located inside the 208,000-square-foot Legacy Center (925 N. Lapeer Rd.), a recreation center and community hub containing 30 tenants that opened in 2015. Mills owns the Legacy Center.

The township board voted 7-0 to deny the request for a Tavern License, which allows only the sale of beer and wine, for Urban Air Oxford, which is owned by Mills. Officials based their decision on the township code of ordinances, which allows the denial of a new liquor license if it’s “not in the interest of the health, safety or welfare of the residents of the township.”

Officials then voted 4-3 to table the Class C liquor license request for 925 Legacy Entertainment, which, according to the application submitted to the township on Sept. 28, is a bar/restaurant with a bowling alley (both full-size and micro), an elevated go-kart track and an events/conference center. 925 Legacy Entertainment, which is owned by Mills and Mike Linc, would provide “catering options . . . for the entire Legacy Center,” according to the application.

Class C licenses allow establishments to sell – at retail – beer, wine, mixed-spirits and spirits for consumption on the premises.

During the discussion on the Urban Air request, Treasurer Joe Ferrari and Trustee Elgin Nichols expressed their opposition to granting a liquor license to a facility that touts itself as a place for kids and families.

“When it comes right down to it,” Nichols said, alcohol is “a drug.”

“We don’t allow drugs in schools. Why would we want to make beer and wine available where there’s children playing and family get-togethers?” he said.

Ferrari agreed. “This is a totally incompatible use . . . There’s no way I would ever approve that for Urban Air,” he said.

Ferrari indicated he informally polled some township, village, city and county treasurers from around the state during the Michigan Municipal Treasurers Association’s fall conference held at the Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville. Of those he asked, “about 10 to 15” had trampoline parks in their communities. He then asked how many of these parks served alcohol.

“I got laughed out of the room,” Ferrari said. “Not one person said, ‘Yes, one in our community serves alcohol.’”

To Ferrari, it was a simple thing to deny Urban Air’s request because “kids and alcohol don’t mix.”

In response, Mills pointed out that “every single restaurant in Oxford,” where families go to eat, “serves beer, wine, liquor.”

He noted other family-oriented entertainment businesses, such as C.J. Barrymore’s, Dave and Buster’s and Joe Dumars Fieldhouse, sell alcohol to their patrons.

“They all carry . . . liquor licenses for their customers and it’s an important part of that business,” Mills said. “People are relaxing while their kids are doing other activities.”

“Even Disney has alcohol. Have you been to Disneyland? There’s bars everywhere,” he noted.

Mills believes it’s up to the adults who patronize these places to drink responsibly while there and get home without violating the law or jeopardizing others people’s safety.

“We’re not here to regulate what people do or don’t do as far as being responsible adults,” he said.

Mills noted “it’s not just kids that use Urban Air.”

“We have corporate events,” he said, and when they call to book parties, they want to know if there’s access to alcohol.

Officials also didn’t like the idea of giving Mills and the Legacy Center the township’s last two liquor licenses, which would leave the community with nothing to help attract new businesses.

John Nold, who serves on the planning commission, but spoke as a resident, agreed.

“It wouldn’t be (in) the best interest of the township to give both of their remaining liquor licenses away at this point in time,” said Nold, who suggested the board consider allowing one instead.

If the township gave both to Mills, it would have to wait until the 2020 U.S. Census to see if the community’s population grew enough to gain any more liquor licenses.

According to the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs website, one public on-premises license (A-Hotel, B-Hotel, Class C or Tavern license) shall be issued by the Liquor Control Commission for every 1,500 of population, or major fraction thereof in cities, incorporated villages and townships.

Mills told township officials he “wouldn’t take two (licenses) if I didn’t need two.”

He explained the requests are for two separate businesses within the same 208,000-square-foot building and one liquor license simply isn’t enough. “If we could accommodate all of our tenants, or service all of our customers, with one liquor license, we certainly would do that,” Mills said.

“Logistically, it doesn’t make sense,” he explained. “That’s why we’ve requested two. I think our request is not unreasonable.”

Mills reminded officials the Legacy Center has a “very unique situation” due to its size and the multiple uses contained within.

“Due to (state regulations), you can’t have a liquor license that runs through the entire building, accommodating both (businesses),” he said. “And they are two separate businesses with two separate business owners.”

Mills believes the township should be more concerned with honoring the liquor license requests of existing businesses that have already invested in the community versus worrying about the needs of potential businesses that may or may not open here.

“No single developer or entrepreneur has invested more money in this community than I have in the last few years,” he said. “There isn’t another entrepreneur or developer who’s taken as much risk in this community as I have. I don’t know another business potentially coming in (that) would have more of a right to these licenses than I do.”

“I can’t think of a reason why we wouldn’t deserve a license over anybody else,” Mills said.

Although the Urban Air request was denied, township officials responded more favorably to the license request for 925 Legacy Entertainment. “This one, for me, is a little different,” said Supervisor Bill Dunn.

“If you look at the layout of what he wants to do there, it makes sense in that location,” the supervisor explained.

The main reason this request was tabled was because Mills plans to have a food truck parked inside the Legacy Center and use it as the kitchen for 925 Legacy Entertainment.

“It’s just a mobile kitchen,” Mills said.

There appeared to be lots of unanswered questions regarding whether or not having the indoor food truck has been reviewed and approved, and safety issues such as ventilation.

“I don’t know who approved what and where. What I’m looking at tonight is something different than what we have looked at before,” said Trustee Jack Curtis, who serves on the planning commission.

“I can tell you right now that the planning commission has never seen a food truck inside Legacy Center, serving food. End of story,” Curtis noted.

“There’s a whole lot of detail that I need on the food truck itself,” said Fire Chief Pete Scholz. “I’ve never seen anything of it so far.”

Scholz noted that according to the International Fire Code, the truck’s gas tank must be empty, the battery unhooked and there are regulations concerning the size of the propane tank that can be used for cooking.

“I’ve got nothing to go on at this point,” the chief said.

Given these issues, the motion to table the liquor license request was made “pending a thorough review” by the planning commission and/or zoning administrator, the fire chief, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and any other necessary authorities.