A Walgreens store at 3005 Midway Drive lost its alcohol license appeal when a City Council committee voted 3-1 on Feb. 16 against renewing the drug store’s license to sell beer and wine in the Point Loma area. A city administrative officer denied Walgreens the license in 2010, prompting the chain to appeal to the Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee. Walgreens hired the prestigious Luce Forward law firm to present its case to the committee. City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, who sits on the committee, said it would be fair to give Walgreens a chance to appeal the denial because there are no other drugstores in the area that also sell beer and wine. Walgreens’ position was that it would serve “the public convenience or necessity” to sell beer and wine for “one-stop shopping.” Zapf made a motion to hear the appeal, but her motion died for lack of a second. City Councilman Todd Gloria then made a motion to deny having an appeal hearing — a motion supported by councilmembers David Alvarez and Marti Emerald. The vice operations of the San Diego Police Department initially denied the application, stating in an Oct. 18 letter that the drugstore was in a high-crime area and cited “an undue concentration of [California Department of] Alcoholic Beverage Control [ABC] licenses” within the census tract. The letter also said selling beer and wine would “aggravate existing police problems.” There are four 7-Eleven stores and five grocery and liquor stores in that specific area which sell alcohol, according to ABC records. Walgreens took the matter to a city administrative officer, who held a hearing and denied the application on Nov. 30. Luce Forward attorney Jennifer Chavez told the committee her firm was unable to look at all of the documents the police department gave the administrative officer before the hearing. The committee similarly voted 3-1 to deny Walgreens an alcohol license at its North Park store.