Bell : Alcohol Permit Supported

A church group that is trying to prevent a merchant from obtaining a license to sell beer and wine next door suffered a setback this week when the City Council indicated that it would approve the necessary permit.

Council members voted 3-2 to draft a resolution that, if passed Nov. 3, would give Joseph Tirado and Raymond Orozco a conditional use permit. The two men own the Los Angeles Meat Co. at 4060 E. Gage Ave. A permit that places conditions--such as the hours during which alcohol can be sold--is needed in Bell before anyone can apply for a license with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Members of the Bell Friends Church urged the council at a public hearing Monday to reject the application. They argued that there are already too many stores in the city that sell alcoholic beverages, especially on Gage Avenue.

But Mayor George Cole said Tirado and Orozco only want a “complete store” and that it would be unfair to deny them a permit that others already have. Cole said the city would gain by granting the permit because one of the conditions is that they open a new off-street parking lot on a street that has none.