The beach-area Alcohol Task Force held its second public meeting Monday, Nov. 27, this time focusing on the types of licenses needed to sell alcohol and rules sellers must follow to serve or sell beer, wine or spirits.
District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer, who presided over the meeting, invited representatives from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to educate the task force and the community of the application process for various liquor licenses.
Unlike the first meeting, where public comment focused on the problems that alcohol can create, this meeting had many local bar and restaurant owners speaking up about the effect a beach ban on alcohol or other restrictions could have on their livelihoods.
“To hear about people concerned about bars and all the bad stuff that goes on, it bothers me personally because I know how much work we put in to making sure that our business is run correctly and run responsibly and run the way it should be run, because this is my life,” said Patrick Archbold, general manager of a Pacific Beach bar. “This is my future and I need it run correctly so it doesn’t get shut down.”
Following the public comments, Jennifer Hill, district administrator for the San Diego ABC office, took the floor to explain how alcohol licenses are granted and regulated.
“My purpose here today is to educate you,” Hill said. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, there’s a lot of confusion out there and I agree, our statutes were written by legislatures and attorneys and they’re not the easiest to interpret or apply to every day.”
She began by explaining the differences between the most common types of licenses. On-sale licenses authorizes the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption at bars, restaurants and lodges. Off-sale licenses authorize the sale of such items at grocery stores and liquor stores but do not allow consumption on the premises.
Hill noted that the majority of licenses in Pacific Beach were issued between 1930 and 1970 and that the number of licenses there has remained at approximately 180 for the last three years. She also said that Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and Mission Beach are unduly concentrated with alcohol licenses.
According to Hill, a 30-day posting is required for all new licenses. She showed an example of the Public Notice of Application sign that she said must be posted at the applicant’s establishment “in a conspicuous place where any of the general public walking by can see it.
“It has to be completely uncovered. It’s actually a violation of law to remove it,” Hill continued.
Additionally, residents within a 500-foot circumference must be sent a Notice of Intention to Engage in the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages from the applicant.
“Now for property owners, the statute does not state they have to find out who the owner is and mail them a notice,” Hill noted. “So if you have renters, they could be tossing them.”
The third public notification is part of the ABC investigation process, in which ABC staff physically inspects the establishment and the surrounding area and determines which residents are within a 100-foot circumference. ABC then sends those residents a second letter with information about what the applicant is proposing, such as live music and entertainment, dancing and hours of operation.
Finally, if the location is in a high-crime or over-concentrated area, the applicant has to publish a public notice in a newspaper three times in three consecutive weeks.
“If someone protests, “¦ unless they are the police department or a city official, they have to prove how this location will directly affect them,” Hill said. “So if they live 10 miles away, they have to prove to a judge how this location is going to directly affect them. So that’s why really residents that live within 100 feet have the most power when it comes to protest.”
After a period of discussion with the task force and a few comments from the public, the meeting was called to an end.
Hill, along with representatives from the San Diego Police Department Vice Division, will attend the next meeting on Monday, Dec. 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Wave House, 3115 Ocean Front Walk.