Seal Beach : Moratorium Extended on New Liquor Licenses

The City Council has voted to extend an emergency moratorium on new liquor licenses for an additional 45 days while the city staff and the Planning Commission study the issue to see if the city’s policy needs to be modified.

The commission will hold a study session next Wednesday and an official of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department will be invited to participate.

At a March 19 public hearing on the moratorium, members of the public requested that the following issues be studied further, according to a report by Development Services Director John Baucke: liquor sales in residential areas; impact on neighbors of liquor stores; what findings are necessary for a legal denial of a license; whether an ordinance is required to prevent liquor sales within 100 feet of schools and churches, and the procedure for granting one-day liquor licenses.

The license issue was raised during the recent City Council elections by challengers for council seats who claimed that the incumbents had allowed the city to be overrun with liquor licenses. There are 50 licenses held in Seal Beach.