Anaheim : Thrifty Oil Co. to Appeal Alcohol Permit Refusal

Like other service stations in the city, the Thrifty Oil Co. will take an appeal to the City Council on Tuesday in an effort to sell alcoholic beverages at a gas station mini-mart.

The city’s Planning Commission, as it traditionally has done, denied Thrifty’s application to sell alcoholic beverages at its 2801 W. Lincoln Ave. station and the company is appealing the decision to the council.

Last Tuesday, another gasoline station won approval from council members, who reversed an earlier Planning Commission denial.

Shell Oil Co. received permission on a 3-2 council vote to construct a convenience market at its South State College Boulevard station that will sell beer and wine. Council members Miriam Kaywood and Irv Pickler voted against the mart after neighboring residents said they feared the convenience store would encourage loitering at the gas station/car wash.

On July 30, council members rejected Kaywood’s motion to place a moratorium on requests involving the joint sale of alcoholic beverages and gasoline until the council decides Sept. 10 on the issue. Planning Commission members, concerned that the sale of alcoholic beverages at gas stations could lead to an increase of drunk-driving cases, had asked the council to consider a new ordinance to ban the alcohol sales.

Of 19 applications heard since 1980, 16 were denied by the Planning Commission, according to Annika Santalahti, assistant zoning director. Of those denied, nine appealed the commission’s decision to the council, which granted their requests in seven of the nine cases, Santalahti said. Other appeals are pending, she said.