Pacific Beach has wonderful assets, huge unrealized potential and some significant but not insurmountable problems. We have the beaches, Mission Bay, Kate Sessions Park, 1,200 businesses and 40,000 diverse residents sharing great neighborhoods. Pacific Beach also has one alcohol license for every 200 residents, even though state law recommends one license per 2,000 people. Not surprisingly, we have high crime, much of which is alcohol-related. For Pacific Beach to improve and properly serve the local residents and attract quality visitors, the business mix, quality of businesses and business operations need to improve. That’s why the Pacific Beach Planning Group and Pacific Beach Town Council agreed that the Planning Group should form an alcohol advisory subcommittee with the goal of reducing the negative impacts of alcohol licenses in Pacific Beach while supporting alcohol licenses with appropriate conditions for desirable businesses that enhance the community. The Alcohol Advisory Subcommittee will advise the police, the city and the state Alcoholic Beverage Control department on all applications for new alcohol licenses, license transfers and license modifications. This subcommittee will have five representatives from the Planning Group and two each from Discover PB and the Town Council, and will bring its recommendations to the full Planning Group for vote. The PB Planning Group is made up of 15 residential members (elected from and representing all census tracts) and five elected commercial members. The Planning Group already advises the city on alcohol licenses for stores and gas stations. The Planning Group is fully regulated and overseen by the city and is required to follow the Brown Act to ensure fair, open and publicly-noticed meetings. With its transparency, broad community representation and oversight already built-in, the Planning Group is the logical entity to review all alcohol license requests. Shortly after the Planning Group began planning the new subcommittee, Discover PB and its Hospitality Task Force (made up of alcohol licensees) suggested that the PB Special Events Committee serve as the alcohol advisory group and they issued letters saying they “will be encouraging our peers not to present to this (Planning Group) subcommittee due to its unbalanced and potentially biased representation.” Defensive and retaliatory actions of Discover PB and the Hospitality Task Force only add to the division between residents and alcohol-related businesses. The formation of the Planning Group Alcohol Advisory Subcommittee is an opportunity for our community to work together to reduce the negative effects of alcohol while encouraging new desirable businesses and it will help put Pacific Beach on a path to reaching its full potential. Scott Chipman is a 33-year resident of Pacific Beach and member of the Pacific Beach Planning Group. The first meeting of the Alcohol Advisory Subcommittee will be Nov. 2, 6 p.m. at the Pacific Beach-Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St.