Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office — Alcoholic Beverage Retail Outlet Nuisance Abatement Program

Alcoholic Beverage Retail Outlet Local Certification of Responsibility (unincorporated area)

A restaurant, cafe or store that sells alcohol in the unincorporated area holds a Local Certification of Responsibility from the Sheriff's Office in addition to its state ABC license. County Code Chapter 8.03 says 'Every existing outlet within the unincorporated area of the County' is presented with a certification, defines outlets to include 'nightclubs and cafes', restaurants, convenience markets and grocery stores where alcohol sales occur, and states that 'a 15 percent administrative fee shall be added to the base to formulate the total certification fee amount.' The Sheriff's page says: 'Each year in June the Sheriff's Office will mail Business Categorization Certification forms to all alcohol retail outlets in the unincorporated area of the County', with invoices 'due within 30 days of the invoice date'. Component amounts are as published in the County's Unified Fee Schedule. A business inside one of the four cities is outside this program's stated area.