§281-60 Further application. (a) Except as provided for in section 281-13, if an applicant has at any time been denied or refused a license, no further application from the applicant pertaining to the same premises or building location shall be considered for one year from the denial or refusal.

(b) If an application pertaining to a particular premises or building location is denied, refused, or withdrawn, the next application from any applicant for that premises or building location shall include a report prepared by the applicant evidencing a substantial change in the circumstances that caused the previous denial, refusal, or withdrawal. The commission shall deny the application at the preliminary hearing unless the applicant submits evidence of a substantial change in the circumstances that previously caused the denial, refusal, or withdrawal of an application pertaining to that premises or building location. The commission may consider the following factors in deciding whether to grant an application pertaining to a premises or building location for which an application has previously been denied, refused, or withdrawn:

(1) Whether a majority of the registered voters residing within five hundred feet of the nearest point of the premises or building location for which the license is asked, or a majority of the owners and lessees of record of real estate and owners of record of shares in a cooperative apartment within five hundred feet of the nearest point of the premises or building location for which the license is asked, no longer oppose the granting of the license;

(2) Whether plans for the construction, building design, use, or operation of the proposed establishment have been altered such that they will not conflict with the character of the surrounding area. In evaluating the character of an area for the purposes of this section, the commission may consider the following factors:

(A) The usual and existing types of business, residential, and recreational uses and activities within the area;

(B) The proximity of residential areas;

(C) The population density of the area;

(D) The typical or ambient noise levels of the area;

(E) The motor vehicle traffic volume, congestion, and noise; and

(F) Any other factors that the commission finds relevant;

(3) Whether the neighborhood board for the area where the premises is located has rendered a decision on the granting of the license;

(4) Whether the applicant is a fit and proper person to have a license; and

(5) Any other considerations deemed by the commission to affect the matter of the application, the issuance, or the exercise of the license applied for. [L Sp 1933, c 40, §35; RL 1935, §2604; RL 1945, §7256; am L 1951, c 223, §1(8); RL 1955, §159-59; HRS §281-60; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 67, §1; am L 1990, c 171, §20; am L 1996, c 62, §2; am L 2001, c 257, §8]