SEAL BEACH : City Reverses Ban on Beer Sales at Event

The City Council reversed an earlier decision Monday, voting to allow beer sales during the sandcastle contest this weekend.

But it may be the last time the city allows such sales because council members also instructed the city staff not toissue any further permits and to draft an ordinance banning any future alcohol sales on city property.

Two weeks ago, the council voted unanimously not to allow beer sales on a bluff overlooking the beach after Old Town residents told them of problems with drunken patrons in the past.

But on Monday, members of the Lions Club, the Seal Beach Business Assn. and other residents packed the council chambers, pleading with the council during an emotional two-hour discussion.

Seal Beach Business Assn. leaders requested that the council allow them to sell beer along with food and soft drinks in an enclosed area. They plan to use the proceeds to buy new benches and lighting for Main Street.

“The sale of beer at this event is vital to generate some income in order to raise money to put back into the city,” said Jeff Williamson, president of the association.

Seal Beach Lions Club leaders supported the application, saying that beer has always been a valuable fund-raiser for their group and other nonprofit organizations.

“We call this the pier built by beer,” said Emily Frazier, a longtime resident who has headed many fund-raising efforts, including T-shirt sales and bake sales for the tot lot, pier and city parks.

Opponents of the beer sales said the events contribute to drunken behavior, urinating on lawns and noise in alleys. In addition, they said that beer is a dangerous drug that should not be sold at family-oriented community events.

The council’s decision Monday was bitterly split, with Mayor Frank Laszlo and Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings adamantly opposed to alcohol sales on public property. Council members Gwen Forsythe, Edna Wilson and William J. Doane voted to allow beer sales.

Beer sales will be subject to a list of conditions, including thorough identification checks of beer purchasers, a strictly enforced two-beer limit, adequate security and a cutoff time at 4 p.m.

After the council voted to allow beer sales this weekend, Laszlo moved to discontinue such sales in the future. That passed, 3 to 1, with Forsythe voting no and Wilson abstaining, both saying they needed more time to think about it.

City Manager Jerry L. Bankston said he will return to the City Council sometime in October with a formal ordinance that would prohibit alcohol sales on public property.

Nonprofit groups vowed a fight.

“There’s too much that the nonprofit organizations do to help the city and we will fight it all the way. It’s not over until that ordinance is changed,” said business association president Williamson.