Van Nuys : Bid to Sell Alcohol at Gas Station Denied
A city zoning official has denied Unocal Corp.’s application for a city permit to sell alcoholic beverages at a gas station at Sherman Way and Sepulveda Boulevard.
Associate Zoning Administrator Horace Tramel refused to grant the liquor permit because, he said, there are enough liquor outlets in the area and because of the neighborhood’s high crime rate.
“Within a 500-foot radius of the location there are five existing [liquor] licenses,” Tramel wrote in his Oct. 23 report. “These locations provide ample opportunity for the public to purchase alcoholic beverages, and there is no compelling need for another license in this area.”
At a Sept. 11 city zoning hearing, Councilman Marvin Braude’s office and nearby residents opposed the proposed permit, citing the area’s crime rate and existing liquor outlets. Unocal had proposed renovating the gas station, building a mini-mart and planting new landscaping. Unocal officials said that they would adopt voluntary restrictions designed to discourage loitering and public drunkenness.
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