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APPLICATION FOR A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW THE OPERATION OF A PROPOSED LIQUOR STORE WITH THE OFF-SALE OF GENERAL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AT 8135 WEST LANE (P15-219, APN 088-180-05)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve a Use Permit for the Off-Sale of General Alcoholic Beverages in a proposed liquor store located at 8135 West lane in accordance with the findings for decision detailed herein.
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Summary
The applicant, Jasbir Sahota, requests a Use Permit to allow the off-sale of general alcoholic beverages in a proposed liquor store located at 8135 West Lane.
DISCUSSION
Background
On March 11, 1999, the Planning Commission approved a Use Permit (UP14-99), to establish a market with the off-sale of general alcoholic beverages (State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC License Type 21) at 8037 West Lane, Suite B. The applicant took over the market in 2005 and has operated it to date under the conditions of that Use Permit. He is in the process of purchasing the building at 8135 West Lane (formerly Bbva Compass Bank) for the purpose of relocating his business.
Project Description
The existing 3,200-square foot building is located on a 0.58-acre site in an approximately ten-acre shopping center at the northwest corner of Hammer Lane and West Lane. The overall shopping center, including the subject site, is zoned CG (Commercial, General) and is bounded to the:
• north across Knickerbocker Drive by single-family residences zoned RL (Residential, Low Density);
• east across West Lane by a shopping center (Normandy Village) zoned CG;
• south across Hammer Lane by an existing bank and various office and retail uses zoned CG; and
• west by an apartment complex zoned RH, (Residential, High Density) (Attachment A - Location map, Site Plan, and Floor Plan).
On June 16, 2015, the applicant submitted a Use Permit application to allow the relocation of his market to the subject site, because the new location will provide better visibility for his business. The new store is approximately 200 feet away from the existing market in the same shopping center. The applicant has advised staff that the existing market has approximately 35% of its gross floor area devoted to the sale, display, and/or storage of alcohol.
In 1999, when the Use Permit was issued for the market, the Zoning Code did not include a definition for a liquor store. In 2009, the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) was amended to add a definition for a liquor store: a business having more than 20 percent of its gross floor area devoted to the sale, display, and/or storage of alcohol. Because the applicant secured his Use Permit prior to the code amendment, the business was characterized as a market, rather than a liquor store. Although the applicant intends to maintain the same percentage of the market’s gross floor area for the sale, display, and storage of alcohol, under the current Code, the proposed business is considered a liquor store and the applicant is therefore required to secure a Use Permit for a liquor store, rather than a market.
According to the applicant, the new liquor store would occupy the entire building. General alcohol would be displayed in the cabinet behind the counter on the west side of the store and beer and wine would be displayed in proposed walk-in coolers on the east and north sides of the store. The operator would continue to offer other merchandise, including: chips, snacks, candies, various grocery items, and bottled/canned beverages, for sale in the store. The hours of operation for the current market are from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. The applicant is asking to maintain the same business hours in his new store. Other businesses in the shopping center generally close before midnight, with the exception of the Union 76/Circle K convenience store at the northwest corner of Hammer and West Lanes (which is open 24 hours per day) and the All Year Round Market located directly south of the subject site (which is open from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., Friday and Saturday).
Proximity to Schools
SMC Section 16.80.040.A requires a minimum separation of 300 feet between an establishment with the off-sale of alcoholic beverages and public or private academic schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The nearest school, Aspire River Oaks Charter School, is approximately 1,300 feet northeast of the project site. In addition, Parklane Elementary School is located approximately 1,600 feet northwest of the project site and Clairmont Elementary School is located approximately 2,000 feet northeast of the subject site. Staff is not aware of any San Joaquin County Office of Education One Schools in the vicinity of the project. Therefore, the proposed use is not expected to have an adverse impact on students attending the noted schools and complies with the noted standard.
Census Tract Concentration
The project site is located in Census Tract 34.06. Based on the population in that geographic area, ABC has determined that three off-sale alcohol beverage establishments may be allowed in the census tract. There are currently four off-sale alcohol establishments within this census tract, including the license that is currently held by the applicant at 8035 West Lane, Suite B. The nearest off-sale establishment is a market located at 8017 West Lane in the same shopping center (All Year Round Market, Type 21 license), which is located approximately 100 feet south of the project site. The other off-sale licenses within the same shopping center are located at 8001 West Lane (Big Lots, Type 21 license) and 1469 East Hammer Lane (Union 76, Type 20 license: off-sale of beer and wine). Those businesses are located approximately 500 and 800 feet, respectively, from the project site (Attachment B - Locations of Existing Off-Sale Alcohol Licenses). According to the applicant, he owns the property at 8037 West Lane and will surrender the approved Use Permit that was issued in 1999 for the existing market upon issuance of a new Use Permit, if required by the Planning Commission as a condition of approval. By surrendering this approved Use Permit, a future tenant would not be able to operate an alcohol-related business at this location. In accordance with ABC rules, transferring the applicant’s existing Type 21 license to a new location within the same census would not increase the overall number of licenses in this census tract. To ensure that another off-sale alcohol use is not re-established at the applicant’s current market, staff is recommending that the Planning Commission require the applicant to surrender the approved Use Permit (UP14-99) at 8037 West Lane, Suite B. In that event, a finding of Public Convenience or Necessity (PCN) is not required to be made for this project.
Problem Use Requirements
The off-sale of alcoholic beverages is defined by the SMC as a “Problem Use” and additional findings must be made in order to approve the subject Use Permit. Those findings address the project's potential for blight or deterioration on the area and aid in dispersing the use to minimize any adverse impacts. Because the business operator will be required to install a video surveillance system if the Use Permit is approved, the project is not expected to result in increased criminal activities in the vicinity area of the project site. Further, the operation of the proposed liquor store is not expected to result in blight or deterioration, because the operator and employees involved in the sale of alcoholic beverages would be required, by the recommended conditions of approval, to participate in the Licensing Education of Alcohol and Drugs training course offered by ABC, which includes the reduction of blight and deterioration. The required Findings of Approval are provided herewith (Attachment C - Findings of Approval).
The Police Department, other City Departments, and the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control have been notified of this request. The Police Department has indicated that based upon calls for service statistics from June 20, 2014 to June 22, 2015, the store at 8037 West Lane, Suite B has not had significant criminal activity related to alcohol sales. Most of the calls for service were made by the applicant’s store or security staff for incidents including disturbance, medical reasons, traffic, or suspicious persons at the store or in the parking lot in front of the store. Therefore, the proposed liquor store, as conditioned, appears to satisfy all applicable requirements of the SMC and the required affirmative Use Permit findings for approval can be made. As such, staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the Use Permit (Attachment D - Conditions of Approval).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Should the Planning Commission approve the subject Use Permit, the project would be categorically exempt, as per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301, as a re-use of an existing commercial building.
VOTES REQUIRED
A vote of a majority (four) of the total authorized membership of the Planning Commission is required for the Commission to take an action on this matter.
Attachment A - Location map, Site Plan, and Floor Plan
Attachment B - Locations of Existing Off-sale Alcohol Licenses
Attachment C - Findings of Approval
Attachment D - Conditions of Approval