Initiates Sobering New Process for License Applicants : State Liquor Panel Cuts Workload

Citing a backlog of 3,000 liquor license applications, a dwindling staff and the passage of a new state law, California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is handing over a chunk of its workload to its applicants.

In hopes of speeding up the time it now takes to process applications, the department began greeting new applicants on Jan. 1 with a hefty stack of forms to fill out on their own as well as requiring them--among other things--to draw diagrams of their proposed business and notify nearby residents of their pending liquor license request.

“We are not changing what’s investigated but who puts the information together,” said Graham M. Archer, the department’s Hollywood district supervisor. “We have been using the same methods since 1954, and we had reached a point where it was almost impossible to get the work done.”

Officials believe that the new procedures will be a great timesaver to investigators who often spent long hours on background checks of the owners and their businesses, only to be called later by applicants who had changed their minds about applying.

In 1983, for example, 1,461, or 21%, of the 6,904 first-time applicants withdrew their requests, according to statistics compiled by the ABC.

“We figured if we had a prepackaged form application and people went through the initial work themselves, some people would not fill it in at all, and those who did could come in with a good portion of the work handled,” Deputy Director George Reece said.

Reece said the department’s budget has been cut about 20% in the past eight years, leaving just 147 investigators statewide. “We have a backlog of about 3,000 applications on any given day,” he said.

While figuring out complicated zoning laws and getting hold of mailing lists may be a breeze for large corporations, small-business owners may be overwhelmed.

Liquor and convenience store applicants may not be located within 200 feet of a school, hospital or church. Restaurant and bar owners may not be within 600 feet. All applicants must now familiarize themselves with those requirements and measure the distances--formerly a task of the investigator.

In addition, as of Jan. 1, applicants are required by state law to notify by mail all residents living within a 500-foot area from their business.

The law, sponsored by Assemblywoman Maxine Waters,(D-Los Angeles) was designed to give communities concerned about proliferating liquor stores a greater voice in the neighborhood’s future. Previous law required a 100-foot notice in addition to the standard 30-day posting of a “Notice of Intention to Engage in the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages” sign on the building so the public could view the sign and protest if they chose.

The new rules apply to first-time requests and person-to-person transfers of existing licenses. Renewals are not affected.

Standing in front of his proposed deli and liquor store at 715 S. Spring St. recently, Leonard Rosenauer pushed his Rolatape measuring device along the sidewalk. The future site of his business is at the base of the landmark Van Nuys building, which also houses 450 senior citizens and disabled persons.

Pointing skyward, Rosenauer said: “Do you know I have to send a letter to everyone in this building?” Otherwise, the 39-year-old businessman had no complaints. “It (the new procedures) takes the burden off the ABC and puts it with the public, which is where it should have been all along.”

Rosenauer, who owns a restaurant and several liquor stores and markets in Los Angeles, predicted that after everyone gets over the initial difficulties of understanding the system, the old days of “waiting forever” for a license should be over.

Spot Checks Planned

While officials are shifting greater responsibility to the applicant, they concede that they have not worked out a comprehensive method to monitor potential abuses.

“We’ll be going out and making certain spot checks to make sure we are not hoodwinked,” said ABC Director Jay Stroh. Applicants must also submit signed affidavits with their completed forms and could have their licenses suspended or revoked if information is found to be false.

Noting that 70,000 businesses are currently licensed in California, Stroh said: “This will relieve some of our work so that we can get back to regulating and enforcement.”

PH