Pacific Beach Town Council (PBTC) President Rose Galliher fears the future of the local business district might include more chain stores and fewer small businesses. Her trepidation is based on the assumptions that national and local chains might not be ingrained into the culture of Pacific Beach enough to support nonprofit fundraising efforts and community improvement projects, noting that the contributions from businesses are what support both community and Town Council events. Events supported by such funding include the annual Police and Emergency Services Appreciation Night (PAESAN), the Pacific Beach Holiday Parade — which was not held in 2009 because of a lack of funding — and the fall BeachFest celebration. One concern of Galliher’s is that chains can offer items at lower prices than local merchants, thus possibly driving long-time store owners out of business. “If the big places gobble up the little places then the little places will not be able to survive,” Galliher said. Galliher said when it comes to funding community events, whether with sponsorships or by donating items to be raffled as part of a fundraiser, chains are less likely to feel obligated to participate. “We’re concerned about economic activity in general right now,” said Andy Hanshaw, director of Discover PB, which operates the Pacific Beach Business Improvement District. “Our role is to help all of the businesses in the district by promoting and enhancing PB as a destination for shoppers, visitors and guests, and really helping businesses in our district,” Hanshaw said. He said that one of the aspects making Pacific Beach unique is the assortment of small businesses. “We so appreciate that and what they bring to the community with their uniqueness,” Hanshaw said. He cited Surf Club Surf Shop, 952 Garnet Ave., which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, saying there are many businesses in Pacific Beach with similar longevity. “It makes sense that we all work together to continue to make PB a great place to live, to play and to stay,” Hanshaw said. In addition, Galliher warned, local activists voicing a single-minded agenda — such as that of alcohol licensing — may inadvertently open the door to other problems. Galliher hopes to redirect the attention of the PBTC’s general membership away from issues such as the deck expansion to the Pacific Beach Shore Club to finding ways to maintain the integrity of the small business dynamic. She noted that the Shore Club has always gone above and beyond in its financial support and commitment to community events. “We need to change things,” Galliher said. She said the issue of alcohol licensing in Pacific Beach has been made, by some, a topic that has divided the general membership of the Town Council. A number of local activists have pushed an agenda asking for more control and stricter standards when it comes to issuing alcohol licenses to businesses in Pacific Beach. They state that the business district is already saturated with establishments serving alcohol — to the point that the area is unsafe after dark. “It’s okay to have an agenda about whatever it is you are passionate about, but it’s not okay when you are dividing the community,” Galliher said. She said there have always been bars in the community and there will continue to be. Some of them are good and some are not good for the community, based on whether they control their patron’s behavior and alcohol consumption or they over-serve their patrons — who then become disruptive, Galliher said. For more than six months, Galliher has been at the center of an ongoing dispute over a letter of support from the council’s board to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Vice Squad in support of a deck expansion for the Pacific Beach Shore Club, a beachfront bar and restaurant. “It was more than a deck expansion, it was 125 more bar stools,” said Joe Wilding, a PBTC board member who is currently running for the position of president against Galliher. His concern is that alcohol outlets do not seem to have any accountability to anyone. “The ABC is pretty much nonexistent,” Wilding said. “I think we have too many alcohol licenses in PB,” he added. Those bringing up the issue have disrupted council meetings and caused gridlock to the point that some no longer bother to attend the monthly civic meetings, Galliher said. But Wilding does not view the problems facing the Town Council as “gridlock” nor as a deterrent for more people to become involved with the organization. “It takes two to argue,” Wilding said. Galliher has stated several times that she wants to move forward and have the Town Council focus on other issues facing the community, such as how to help maintain the integrity of the business district during a down economy. “Be careful what you wish for because bigger places are taking over and they don’t need to go through all of the [same alcohol] restrictions,” Galliher warned, stating that large chains go through a different process to gain alcohol licenses. “They don’t have to go through anybody,” she said.