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REQUEST FOR A USE PERMIT TO UPGRADE FROM THE OFF-SALE OF BEER AND WINE TO GENERAL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN AN EXISTING CONVENIENCE STORE WITH GASOLINE SALES AT 7272 WEST LANE (P17-0096)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a resolution denying a Use Permit to upgrade from the off-sale of beer and wine to general alcoholic beverages in an existing convenience store with gasoline sales at 7272 West Lane, in accordance with the Findings for Decision detailed herein.
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Summary
The applicant, Richard Bertero, on behalf of Balwinder Somal and Surinder Kuar (owners of the Quik Stop Market), is requesting a Use Permit to upgrade from the off-sale of beer and wine to general alcoholic beverages in an existing convenience store with gasoline sales at 7272 West Lane. They have owned and operated the Quik Stop Market since 2006.
The City’s Alcohol Beverage Sales Ordinance (Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 16.80.040) contains provisions intended to reduce the negative effects associated with alcoholic beverage sales activities. Staff have reviewed the project against those provisions and the Development Code’s standards for alcoholic beverage sale uses. The subject Use Permit does not comply with the provisions of Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) Section 16.080.040 related to Location Restrictions for alcohol uses; specifically, the site’s proximity to sensitive land uses and being located in a high Crime Reporting District (CRD). Therefore, staff is recommending that the Planning Commission deny the application, based on the recommended Findings for Decision in the Proposed Resolution.
DISCUSSION
Background
The project site has a Use Permit (UP39-87) that was approved by the Planning Commission on June 25, 1987, to allow a convenience store with the off-sale of beer and wine (Type 20 State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license) and retail gasoline sales on the project site. That Use Permit was superceded by a subsequent Use Permit (UP70-99) to allow an expansion of the pump area for the convenience store.
In November of 2011, another Use Permit application (P11-323) was submitted to upgrade from the off-sale of beer and wine to general alcoholic beverages (Type 21 ABC license) in the existing convenience store. The Use Permit was denied by the Planning Commission and City Council, on appeal, because of the project’s potential for an increase in calls for police service, resulting in additional burdens on already-strained police resources. In addition, there were already a number of existing off-sale alcohol establishments operating in the proximity of the site and adding another off-sale general alcohol license in this area would have intensified existing alcohol-related problems in the neighborhood surrounding the subject site.
The approximately 0.65-acre site contains an existing 2,500-square foot, one-story convenience store and an existing fuel canopy. The site is zoned CG (Commercial, General) and is bounded to the:
• north across Hammertown Drive by an office building zoned CG;
• east by an existing bar with indoor recreational facility zoned CG;
• south by an auto repair facility zoned CG; and
• west across West Lane by a mobile home park zoned RL (Residential, Low-Density) (Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photograph).
The General Plan designates the project site for Commercial land uses. This land use designation and the accompanying CG zoning conditionally allow a convenience store with the off-sale of general alcoholic beverages and gasoline sales, subject to securing an approved Use Permit from the Planning Commission.
Present Situation
In February of 2017, a Use Permit application was submitted by the applicant to upgrade from the off-sale of beer and wine to general alcoholic beverages in the site’s existing convenience store. In accordance with SMC Section 16.240.020, convenience stores are defined as: “Easy access retail stores selling a combination of alcohol, gasoline, and a range of merchandise to provide a variety of items primarily for the motoring public.” The applicant would like to provide the off-sale of general alcoholic beverages for the convenience of his customers and has indicated that the store will continue to operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
According to ABC regulations, alcoholic beverages cannot be sold between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The applicant has stated that the display of general alcoholic beverages will be located in a locked display case behind the sales counter; thereby involving sales staff in all such transactions - as is currently the case with tobacco products. Beer and wine will continue to be displayed in coolers and displays within the store (Attachment B - Site and Floor Plans). The applicant has indicated to staff that the subject use will not operate as a liquor store and has agreed to abide by the Development Code’s restriction against more than 20 percent (20%) of store’s gross floor area being devoted to the sale, storage, and/or display of alcohol. If more than 20% of the store’s gross floor area is devoted to alcohol, the use would be treated as a liquor store, rather than as a convenience store.
Census Tract
The project site is located in Census Tract 34.10 at the southeast corner of West Lane and Hammer Lane. Based upon the population in that geographic area, ABC has determined that four (4) off-sale alcoholic beverage establishments are allowed within the Census Tract. There are currently three (3) active off-sale licenses in the census tract, including the applicant’s active off-sale beer and wine license. The area is not, therefore, overconcentrated with respect to off-sale alcoholic beverage establishments. The applicant is proposing to purchase an existing off-sale general alcoholic beverage license (Type 21) from outside the Census Tract and transfer it to the subject site. He has also stated that the existing ABC off-sale beer and wine license (Type 20) will be surrendered upon issuance of a new Type 21 ABC license (Attachment C - Project Description). According to ABC staff, transferring a Type 21 license to the subject site will not exceed the number of off-sale alcohol licenses permitted in this Census Tract. Therefore, a Finding of Public Convenience or Necessity (PCN) will not be required for this project.
For the Commission’s information, the intersection of Hammer Lane and West Lane consists of four (4) Census Tracts (34.05, 34.06, 34.07 and 34.10) (Attachment D - Census Tracts/Off-Sale Liquor Licenses). Census Tracts 34.06 and 34.07 are over-concentrated with respect to the off-sale alcohol licenses and Census Tract 34.05 is not over-concentrated for the off-sale of alcohol licenses (three (3) allowed and three (3) existing). In general, there are sixteen (16) active off-sale alcohol licenses, including the applicant’s active license (off-sale beer and wine), in these four Census Tracts. The neighborhood is already served by an adequate number of off-sale alcohol establishments. Approval of the subject request would generate more intensive alcohol-related uses, which have the potential to worsen safety problems in the neighborhood due to increased crimes and illegal activities.
Location Restriction
Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 16.80.040 outlines locational criteria for alcoholic beverage sales establishments.
Proximity to Schools and Parks
Section 16.80.040.D.2.a requires a minimum separation of 500 feet between a new off-sale alcoholic beverage establishment and public or private academic schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, nursery schools, preschools, day care facilities, public parks, playgrounds, recreational areas, or youth facilities. There is an existing preschool, Stanford Montessori Preschool, located approximately 260 feet to the east of the site (1606 Hammertown Drive). Therefore, the use does not comply with the noted minimum required separation.
High Crime Reporting District
SMC Section 16.80.040.D(2)(d)(ii)(A) provides that a business with the off-sale of alcoholic beverages may not be located in a CRD where the average number of crimes in that district exceeds the average number of crimes for all CRDs Citywide by more than 20 percent. The project site is located in CRD No. 359. For the purpose of tabulating CRD crime statistics, the Police Department tracks only Part 1 crimes, which consist of homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, auto theft, larceny, and arson. According to statistics maintained by the Police Department, CRD No. 359 had 285 Part 1 crimes reported from 2013 through 2015. That number is 235.29% above the average number of calls in the City for that period: 85. Therefore, the subject use does not comply with the noted restriction. In response to the application referral for the proposed use, staff in the Police Department’s Vice Division reviewed calls for service related to the subject site. They reported that there were 48 calls for service between March 27, 2016, and March 27, 2017. The calls were for various disturbances, theft, being drunk in public, armed robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon at the store, as well as for a variety of miscellaneous and non-emergency calls.
Proximity to Other Alcoholic Beverage Sales Establishments
Section 16.80.040.D(2)(d)(ii) provides that an off-sale alcohol establishment shall not be located in an area within 500 feet of an existing off-sale alcoholic beverage establishment or in a location that would lead to the grouping of more than four (4) off-sale alcoholic beverage establishments within a 1,000-foot radius. There are no other off-sale alcohol establishments within a 500-foot or a 1,000-foot radius of the subject site (Attachment E - Census Tract 34.10/Liquor Licenses). The subject use complies with both separation requirements.
Findings
The Development Code contains specific Findings, all of which must be made in the affirmative, to support the approval of a Use Permit. If one or more of the Findings cannot be made, the Use Permit cannot be approved.
General Findings
There are seven required General Findings in SMC Section 16.168.050.A. They require compliance with all applicable provisions in the SMC; maintaining the integrity and character of the applicable zoning district; consistency with applicable General Plan objectives and policies; physical suitability of the site for the proposed use; not endangering or jeopardizing the public health, safety, peace, or general welfare of the public; compatibility with surrounding uses; and consistency with the California Environmental Quality Act.
With respect to these General Findings, the project does not comply with applicable provisions of the Development Code, because the proposal is not consistent with the two (2) noted Location Restrictions. As indicated in the Proposed Resolution, the subject use does not strengthen the integrity of the surrounding area and could jeopardize or be hazardous to public peace and welfare and could be incompatible with surrounding land uses.
Problem Use Findings
Section 16.168.050.B contains three specific Findings for Problem Uses. Problem Uses are defined as uses that have “a blighting and/or deteriorating effect upon their surroundings, and which may be dispersed to minimize their adverse impacts.” The findings address not interfering with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property in the area; not increasing the deterioration or blight of the area; and not being contrary to any program of neighborhood conservation, improvement or redevelopment either residential or nonresidential.
The subject use, which involves the off-sale of general alcoholic beverages in an existing convenience store, is defined by the Development Code as a Problem Use. In addition to the required Findings for Problem Uses, the subject use must comply with the criteria contained in SMC Section 16.80.270.B, Criteria for Problem Uses. Those criteria address the proximity of other Problem Uses; the effect of dispersal or concentration of problem uses in the general area; the effect that the proposed use is likely to have on the neighborhood; the noise, traffic, and/or visual impacts, as well as other relevant factors, on the compatibility of the proposed use with the surrounding institutional, business, and residential uses; the potential of the proposed use to create or increase loitering or vandalism in the area; and the degree that traffic safety, both on- and off-site, will be adversely affected by the proposed activity.
As noted in the Proposed Resolution, the proposed use is likely to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property in the area, due to its potential adverse impact on crime problems in the area. No evidence has been submitted to staff by the applicant to confirm that the subject use would not result in blighting or deterioration in the area and would not adversely affect the conservation and improvement of the area.
Alcoholic Beverage Findings
Section 16.168.050.C contains four specific Findings for Alcoholic Beverages. The first finding addresses the project’s potential to result in nuisance activities on and near the subject site. The three remaining findings deal with training in ABC alcohol regulations, compliance with applicable governmental regulations, and the possible need for an ABC Public Convenience or Necessity Finding. These three findings do not need to be addressed, because staff is recommending that the Planning Commission deny the project. With respect to the first of the required Findings, the Proposed Resolution states that the use can be expected to result in nuisance activities, due to the additional calls for police service that can be expected from the subject use. The document also notes that the project site is in an area that already experiences a high level of crime problems.
Public Comments
Staff has provided both legal advertisement and public notice to the surrounding neighborhood, as required by the Development Code, and, to date, has not received any public communication on the proposed project.
Environmental Clearance
Denial of the application does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and, therefore, no environmental analysis is needed for the proposed use.
VOTES
A vote of a majority, four (4), of the total authorized membership of the Planning Commission is required for the Commission to transact business or decide any matter.
Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photograph
Attachment B - Site and Floor Plans
Attachment C - Project Description
Attachment D - Census Tracts/Off-Sale Liquor Licenses
Attachment E - Census Tract 34.10 Liquor Licenses
This staff report was prepared by Senior Planner Jenny Liaw; (209) 937-8316, jenny.liaw@stocktonca.gov