A special California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) hearing was held Dec. 14, setting the stage in the next two weeks to determine the fate of the PB Shore Club’s plan to expand seating for 126 more customers by adding a 1,800-square-foot patio. While the Shore Club’s ownership pursues the plan as an economic shot in the arm and as a way of evening the playing field with neighboring taverns along the shorefront near Crystal Pier, a group of Pacific Beach residents protested the expansion during the hearing. Detractors said there already not enough police, fire and emergency services to handle the greater alcohol-related issues in Pacific Beach, and claimed the club’s planned expansion would exacerbate the problem by adding more potential customers. They also pointed out that the hearing was taking place four days after police reported six arrests, a felony assault and a noise complaint involving patrons who were last served at the PB Shore Club on the night of Dec. 10. The expansion has been held up since March 2008, but the PB Shore Club’s ownership steadfastly maintains it has already agreed to a number of restrictions and compromises to get the expansion approved and to ease the concerns of neighbors. Principal PB Shore Club owner Barrett Rinzler could not be reached for comment following the hearing, but he has been quoted as saying his agreement to the restrictions is a “massive show of good faith to the community.” The establishment’s attorney, William Winship, said the PB Shore Club has so far agreed to more restrictions than any other bar on the beach and is at a disadvantage in the summertime because the five nearest bars all have decks — a feature that makes it harder for the PB Shore Club to compete. Restrictions the PB Shore Club has agreed to now include: • Sound that can be heard more than 50 feet away from the premises will be prohibited. • No live music or dancing will be permitted. • All drinking games will be banned. • No pool tables will be allowed. • No amplified sound system will be permitted on the patio. • Food service will be required to continue until closing time. • The practice of selling pitchers of beer will no longer be allowed. • Security will be hired for all hours of operation. • Customers on the deck expansion can’t be served after midnight. Still, critics of the PB Shore Club expansion leveled their own arguments during the ABC hearing, making several points during the testimony. The information, according to detractors, is based on information provided to them by police but not independently confirmed by the Beach & Bay Press: • Pacific Beach has more DUI arrests than any other area in San Diego County. • The general crime rate is five times the citywide average. • The Pacific Beach business district has more than 60 alcohol outlets in an area where only 10 are allowed by state law. As a rule, critics said, alcohol licenses are not granted in an area with high crime or an oversaturation of alcohol outlets. • Addressing alcohol-related problems in Pacific Beach drains police and fire-rescue resources from the rest of the city. During the hearing, at least two Pacific Beach businesses claimed to be negatively affected by the alcohol-related issues in PB. “I’ve been here for a long time and have seen every issue on the planet in PB, including closing the boardwalk in the 1970s to banning alcohol on the boardwalk,” said Crystal Pier owner Bill Allen. “… The alcohol issue has become completely out of control and no one from ABC or the city seems to be able to do anything about it,” he said. “What they don’t understand is how we have to deal with the aftermath of that type of behavior from the bars.” Allen has owned the Crystal Pier near the PB Shore Club for 50 years and claims to have lost customers because of the neighborhood’s bar scene. “If my guests want to go out at night, go out to eat on Garnet or go to the store, they have to deal with people yelling at them [or] people passed out,” Allen said. “It has become a free-for-all drunkfest and is absolutely despicable. It is hard to sustain a family-owned environment.” Elvin Lai, owner of the Ocean Park Inn (710 Grand) across the street from the PB Shore Club, said he, too, had lost business because of the noise from the Shore Club. At the same time, he said he understands the need for the Shore Club to expand its business. A decision on the proposed patio expansion is expected to be made by state ABC regulators within 30 days of the Dec. 14 hearing. The PB Shore Club is located at 4343 Ocean Blvd.