SAN FERNANDO : Group to Protest Liquor Exemption

San Fernando residents who have worked to reduce the heavy concentration of stores that sell liquor will fight an exemption that they fear will gut a proposed ordinance restricting such outlets, activists said Monday.

Residents will demand that the exemption be dropped during a hearing tonight before the San Fernando Planning Commission, which is scheduled to meet to fashion a permanent law to restrict on- and off-site liquor outlets.

“This exception takes the guts out of the ordinance,” said Mary Mendoza, a member of Valley Organized in Community Efforts (VOICE). “It defeats the whole purpose of what we’re trying to do.”

The city imposed a moratorium on new liquor sales permits last summer after residents complained about a saturation of liquor outlets.

After months of public workshops and meetings, the City Council in January gave tentative approval to a proposed ordinance that would prohibit off-site liquor outlets such as liquor stores until the ratio drops to one per 1,000 city residents. There are now 32 liquor stores and markets in San Fernando and 23,500 residents.

Businesses where liquor is sold by the drink, such as restaurants, would be allowed under certain conditions without being counted in the ratio, said Howard Miura, the city’s community development director.

The proposal would also exclude off-site liquor sales outlets, such as supermarkets, if located within a major retail complex.

Mendoza said the exemption would render the proposed law useless. “This will allow things to go on with business as usual,” Mendoza said. “That’s not acceptable.”

Miura said the exemption was included to avoid tying the hands of developers who wish to undertake a project that includes, for instance, a convenience store.

“The primary reason is for economic development,” Miura said.

Once the commission gathers public comment and crafts a final version of the proposed law, it will be sent to the council for action.