Incentives to Close Liquor Stores Sought : Riot aftermath: Asian-American groups seek financial help in exchange for converting controversial businesses or moving them out of South Los Angeles.

Searching for solutions in the ongoing debate over the future of liquor stores in South Los Angeles, a broad array of Asian-American organizations for the first time is calling for a reduction in the number of liquor outlets in the area.

But the Asian Pacific Planning Council and Asian Pacific Americans for a New L.A. are attaching two conditions to their compromise offer--conditions to which city officials and residents may not agree.

Echoing the demands of inner-city merchants--many of them Korean-American--the groups want liquor store owners to receive incentives to relocate riot-damaged stores or convert them into other businesses. They also want the city to waive public hearings for store owners who want to reopen and do not have a record of complaints.

But city officials have indicated that public funds may not be available to pay liquor store owners who shut down, though community activists are proposing that the alcohol industry help merchants relocate.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment--which wants fewer liquor stores in South Los Angeles--say they cannot compromise on mandatory public hearings.

With a compromise they plan to present to city leaders, the Asian-American groups are acknowledging that competing interests are at work.

The issue of rebuilding liquor stores has become “a test of whether historically powerless communities like South-Central will be able to determine their future,” the Asian Pacific Planning Council said in a statement released last week.

But “these store owners did not buy or start these businesses with the intent of bringing harm to the local community,” the group said, adding that without other income and under pressure from creditors, the merchants “feel the urgency to rebuild and restart their businesses as quickly as possible.”

Under an ordinance passed after the spring riots, liquor store owners must undergo Planning Commission review if they want to reopen stores that were destroyed. Of the estimated 224 liquor stores burned last spring, three have gone through hearings and two were allowed to reopen.

“These public hearings have become points of confrontation that we feel are not necessary,” said Deborah Ching, president of the Asian Pacific Planning Council. “If merchants agree to community-sanctioned standards for the operation of their businesses, we’re asking that hearings be waived.”

Karen Bass, executive director of the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, said her group supports compensation, even if it “cannot compromise on public hearings.”

Generally, she applauded the stance adopted by the Asian-American groups.

“I think it’s a tremendous acknowledgment that (rebuilding liquor stores) is not a racial issue,” said Bass, whose group collected 35,000 signatures on petitions opposing the reopening of liquor outlets. “It recognizes that the issue has racial impact, but it’s not at the core.”

Stewart Kwoh, president of Asian Pacific Americans for a New L.A., said his group’s position represents a compromise between those who favor unmitigated rebuilding and those who have worked against alcohol and drug abuse in the Asian-American community.

“It’s a test for Asian-Pacific Americans on whether they are going to fight for the rights of (Korean-American) victims and help bridge gaps that exist between victims and other communities,” Kwoh said.

Bass is proposing that alcohol producers contribute, through Rebuild L.A., to a fund that would help merchants relocate their businesses, a proposal that Ching supports.

But Jeff Becker, spokesman for the Washington-based Beer Institute, a trade group representing brewers, said the industry would rather support alcoholism prevention efforts than help merchants relocate.

“The lack of a liquor store right around the corner won’t stop (drinkers) from using alcohol,” he said, adding that it may not be legal for brewers to assist with relocation efforts.

Becker said he was surprised his organization had not been asked to contribute to Rebuild L.A. “We would try to help with prevention programs if we were asked,” he said.