Outcry Grows in Plan to Curb Liquor Sales

A community clampdown on east San Fernando Valley liquor stores that initially drew praise is now the center of a dilemma over limiting legal alcohol sales that add to crime, drug use and drunk driving, without stripping merchants of their right to earn a living.

Aiming to improve neighborhoods where people linger on street corners drinking beer and cheap wine, a new group of community leaders and 22 merchants drew up 16 rules to govern how liquor stores do business.

These voluntary guidelines, which take effect Sept. 15, shorten operating hours, restrict the amount of liquor that may be sold and even specify how often areas surrounding the stores must be swept.

But the guidelines, under which leaders eventually hope to include all 90 liquor outlets in the East Valley, have been criticized by community organizations, police and other merchants who share the goal of cleaning up crime-ridden neighborhoods but disagree on how to achieve it.

Critics Disagree

Some critics, including police and some community leaders, say the guidelines are unenforceable and don’t go far enough. Others say they go too far.

“I think people are fed up with the crime and the violence and the drug scene,” said Kal Ammari, manager of Pacoima Food Market on Van Nuys Boulevard, which has been cited by authorities for a number of liquor-related infractions. “They don’t know how to stop it and they don’t know where to go.”

But, he said, pressuring liquor store owners to comply with restrictions is unfair, and he has refused to participate. “We’re easy, we’re small and we don’t have the resources to fight back, so we’re a perfect target,” he said.

The guidelines, drawn up by merchants calling themselves Merchants for a Better Community in cooperation with another new group called the San Fernando Valley Community Advisory Board, call for halting liquor sales at 10 p.m. They also prohibit the sale of “short dogs,” small $1.25 bottles of wine; require beer to be sold in quantities of two cans or more, and ban the sale of cups and loose ice.

But they don’t stop there.

Candy Sales

The merchants agreed to stop selling candy in the early morning because the guidelines’ authors believe that children who eat sugar on the way to school cause discipline problems. The merchants also said they would remove video games, limit liquor signs to one per establishment and remove public telephones, which drug dealers commonly use to peddle their wares.

Even so, some community leaders, police and elected officials say the plan is little more than a ploy by problem-plagued stores to avoid even tougher restrictions from city officials.

“It’s a PR effort,” said Angela Goldberg, program director for Bridge: A Way Across, a social services agency that deals with alcohol-related problems in the East Valley.

Los Angeles police say the new plan interferes with an existing and successful approach that punishes defiant merchants with strict operating conditions.

“They threw a chink in our armor,” said Police Captain Tim McBride. “The Police Department and the community have gone full barrel about not letting these people off the hook. We wanted to make an example of them.”

During an undercover sting operation in July, police arrested 22 clerks at liquor stores throughout the East Valley who sold alcohol to underage police volunteers.

Operating Permits

In addition, police and the Pacoima Coordinating Council, a powerful alliance of homeowner associations, elected officials and business and church groups, have pushed city zoning officials to deny new operating permits to some stores and to revoke others.

Last spring, three Pacoima liquor stores--John’s Liquors, Leon’s Liquor and Pacoima Food Market--were put on probation by zoning officials who said the businesses were public nuisances. The stores were slapped with tough restrictions that included a ban on selling cold beer. The stores appealed, and the matter remains unsettled.

Community activists also have asked city officials to investigate allegations that eight other stores are selling liquor to minors and intoxicated adults and allowing public drunkenness, loitering and littering.

“I think there’s a clear message,” City Zoning Administrator Jon Perica said. “The merchants are smart enough to know what will happen if they don’t do anything.”

Adhering to voluntary regulations is a good business decision, he said. “They will be able to stay in business without being hassled by the city and without the legal expense of hiring attorneys to defend themselves in future actions.”

Community Activist

The voluntary guidelines are the brainchild of longtime community activist Fred Taylor and his friend Robert Hawkins, who say a less confrontational approach is needed.

“You have to reach a middle ground with these people to make things work for them and the community,” said Taylor, who owns a religious music store in Pacoima and whose efforts to clean up the community began in 1985.

Once an active member of the Pacoima Coordinating Council, Taylor last month formed the San Fernando Valley Community Advisory Board. He has drawn criticism for forming the new group, which some community leaders viewed as a personal slight.

The split worries some community leaders and police, who say a fragmented approach to solving problems is doomed to fail.

“You’ve got to work with the community,” said Ray Magana, an attorney who is considering an invitation to serve on Taylor’s advisory board. “You don’t create your own group. I think it would be a mistake for the merchants association to put aside all these other groups. They are dedicated individuals who have respect and, most importantly, have a track record.”

Object to Some Rules

Even though they support the concept behind the guidelines, some merchants said they object to a few of the rules.

“This is too much,” said Naim Husari, owner of Cork’n Jug in San Fernando, of the restriction on candy sales. “This is food. You can’t refuse to sell food to somebody. It’s unreasonable.”

John Chung, owner of John’s Liquors, which was cited for selling alcohol to minors, said the rules will cost him about $10,000 a month, at least at first.

But Chung, whom Taylor credits with a complete turnaround since being cited by the city, said that he will comply anyway and that he has helped recruit other merchants to the group. “It’s time to give something to the community,” Chung said.

The owners of Leon’s Liquor have also agreed to follow the new guidelines and helped gather support from other merchants.

But at least 70 other store owners in the target area, which stretches from Sunland to Pacoima, have yet to jump on the bandwagon. And that, merchants say, is the plan’s greatest flaw.

“We have two markets within a half-mile of us,” said Mike Majers, owner of Majers Liquor Store in San Fernando, who has not agreed to follow the guidelines. “Both are open 24 hours. Will they stop selling alcoholic beverages at 10 o’clock?”

Effort Called Misguided

Dan Gray, vice president and director of operations for Tresierras, which has two markets in Pacoima, called Taylor’s efforts misguided. Gray said adding more police to the area would be more effective.

“You’re taking away certain rights they have as retailers,” Gray said, referring to liquor store owners. “If a merchant is . . . selling to people who are intoxicated or selling to minors, why aren’t those merchants gone after instead of saying to everyone in Pacoima, ‘You have to do this’? “

Augie Maldonado, a leader in the Pacoima Coordinating Council, supports the voluntary guidelines but said they are only one part of a larger puzzle.

“It really sounds good,” he said. “But who are they going to answer to? How are they going to police it? Are they going to impose any penalties?”

Stores that join the merchants group will display a window decal. That, Taylor said, will set them apart from uncooperative merchants. He said merchants who fail to abide by the guidelines will be subjected to community pressure to fall in line.

“If these people don’t follow through . . . all I have to do is send a letter to the church and have the pastor read it, and it will hit 5,000 people Sunday morning,” Taylor said. “On the flip side, if they participate, everyone will know about it.

“The hammer is there, but it is not something we’re waving in front of them. When I sit down with them I don’t say you participate or we’re coming after you.”