Council votes to nix liquor store
Published Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Fairbanks City Council on Monday formally protested a businessman’s request to add a liquor store to a South Fairbanks strip mall, a proposal that had drawn criticism from neighbors.
Mall owner Patrick Kohls had asked for permission to transfer a liquor license to the South Cushman Street commercial building, which also houses the Mighty Dollar thrift store.
A group of 13 neighbors wore matching T-shirts to Monday’s City Council meeting that read “Not one more,” referring to the neighborhood’s high volume of collective alcohol sales. The group characterized its neighborhood as plagued by visible signs of alcoholism and alcohol-related crime. Eielson Street resident Mariah Rice said the neighborhood already includes too many places to buy alcohol — six, she estimated, in a one-mile radius.
“We don’t, really, need more alcohol,” she said.
The council voted 4-2 to protest the proposed liquor license transfer, with council members Tonya Brown, John Eberhart, Bernard Gatewood and Chad Roberts in support and Lloyd Hilling and Vivian Stiver voting to allow the license transfer.
“I do not want to put another problem in place without first of all looking at the solutions,” Brown said.
The city will forward the protest to the state of Alaska’s alcohol regulatory board.
Kohls said Monday he had planned to include liquor sales as part of a larger grocery store in the mall. He said while he agrees that an alcohol problem exists in South Fairbanks, he had collected signatures from 70 people who he said supported his plan for retail grocery space. Kohls said economic realities require grocery stores support themselves partly through alcohol sales.
“It’s not about getting rich. It’s not about trying to take advantage of anybody. It’s about survival,” he said.
Past city councils have resisted efforts to establish liquor stores in the area because it already includes a concentration of liquor stores and bars, said Fairbanks Police Chief Dan Hoffman, who supported the council’s protest. He said city officials have also discussed the possibility of creating an “alcohol impact zone” in the neighborhood to ban the sale of certain types of alcohol products.
Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.
Community Discussion
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too many here we dont need other extra cause of drunk drivers. i wish fairbanks needs dry like inupiaq villages
Alcohol for survival? Thats a new one... I agree with the council on this one. There is an awful lot of liquor licenses already held in that immediate area, and it is a problematic part of town. I don't, however, think allowing the transfer would enable any further inebriation since Thrifty is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Anyone know from where the license originated?
It really shouldn't be up to the government to determine who gets a business to have a livelihood and who doesn't. If this businessman wants to take the risk by opening a business and wants to locate this business on his own privately-owned property, it is of no concern to the public. What he does on his property is his business. I'm saddened the Fairbanks City Council thinks otherwise.
Gopking: So if your next door neighbor turned his yard into a gravel mine, you'd be cool with that?
gopking I disagree. It is of concern to the public. I wouldn't give a rats behind about the livelihood of a businessman who wanted to open a porn shop across the street from an elementary school - private property or not. This man is attempting to capitalize on the already high rate of inebriation in the area. Taking advantage of the community may be his right, but don't expect it be widely accepted.
the area DOES need a grocery store, and unfortunately Kohls is right in that a liquor store probably is required to make up the margin between profitable and nonprofitable. fred meyers and safeway are both a long way off from south cushman, and there are a lot of economically disadvantaged people in the area without adequate transportation to west or north fairbanks. if they can't buy liquor at the new grocery store, they go one block north to thrifty liquor. what's the difference? i bet thrifty liquor is upset that a new liquor store would be setting up there.
gopking is very right, why is government interfering with entrepreneurs trying to make a buck?
Yeah, I don't like the idea of having the right to sell alcohol in an area that has a high concentration of alcohol sellers already. They need to be spread out across the city so everyone can have equal access...to the juice.
I especially dislike the idea of allowing another business to have the same constitutional rights as the business down the street.
If this is a license transfer, then how can you conclude or wear a t-shirt stating "not one more" when in fact there will not be one more.
If it indeed is a transfer then that means he bought an existing license from someone else and now wishes to exercise the use of that license on his property.
For the anology regarding porn stores across from schools, I didn't check this morning but at present I don't think that any business can or has created a porn store in such a location. There may even be an ordinance prohibiting such which is fine, goes for every potential business and as it should be.
The city by the use of some form of voodoo math has come up with a retricted number of available liquor licenses.
The license once bought should have no restriction as to it's location
as long as the property in question is zoned commercial use.
As for the next door neighbor and his gravel operation.
Bring it on!! If I have mistakenly created my house next to property zoned for business, then that's my dumb luck. Besides look at the positive. Later once all the gravel is extracted you may end up with waterfront property :)
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First, the state alcohol control board dispenses liquor license's not the city or borough and it is based of many factors. Second, that area of south cushman is zoned commericial for a reason. Third, although I dont know where the license originally was located but it had been listed for sale in the newspaper at one point and anyone could have bought it and then either done nothing and let it fade away or let someone else who wants to add to our economy use it to sell liquor in there neighborhood. At one point S. Cushman had thrifty, 7-11, mapco and Oaken Keg (inside the now closed FOODLAND) all selling alcohol. Was it worse then? I totally agree with a need for a grocery store in the downtown area ( I miss FOODLAND for the food, not the land mine of inebriates) I believe that any grocery store in the downtown area would want to add a liquor dept and not to allow these people the right to use a license they bought and are attempting to use in an area that is zoned for it compared to that alternative would be biased at best.
I would rather see a liquor store close to someones house where they could walk instead of a drunk driving just before midnight to get his fix before the bell tolls for the night, thats just my opinion though.
JB, you said it very well. I too, miss FOODLAND!! I think having a grocery store in that area would be a good thing. For some reason, and not the one stated, I think the city council is trying to regulate business. If I were living in South Fairbanks, I would be livid. Also good points about economically disadvantaged people living there not having transportation to get to the big stores at the EDGE of the city. Downtown Fairbanks has been killed over the years....starting in 83 when they tore down all the bars downtown!!!
The problem is not the selling of alcohol but the crowd it brings. Anyone who wants alcohol can simply walk a few blocks or catch a cab. Residents who live in the area are most likely concerned with the area becoming yet another hangout for chronic inebriates. If alcohol were available in all retail stores, the drunks would be so spread out you would hardly notice them.
Whats wrong with thrifty's? Thrifty's is just right there, why open another store? However i dont see how adding another store to southside would add to the problem of chronic inebriates....thrifty's and holiday is just right there.
I agree with MJ22, one more store will not create more alcoholism or crime. The most it will do is possibly drive business down for the other six stores in the area. Just another display of how our "freedom" to pursue and obtain our "happiness" is governed by the NIMBY's (Not-In-My-Back-Yard).... Whether it be an issue of alcohol, tobacco, etc, etc...
Thanks Jalo - I've been wondering what the heck NIMBY stood for!
I agree with MJ22 as well - one more store on Cushman isn't going to have much effect on that part of town.
And, I'd much rather have that liquor license operating on Cushman than in my neighborhood! I've already got enough inebriates prowling the streets, fighting, cussing, and throwing 40's into my front yard.
I cant see the harm in another booze emporium. Its not like walking a block to the next one is a big deal. This is a govenment action and the people came out and said no and the City Council listened. This is how our system works, also ABC could still allow the license the council vote was just advisory and not binding on ABC. You want change become active go to the council meetings let your voice be heard. Lets all make Fairbanks a better place.
“Alcohol impact zone”??? What??? I dont know how the Fairbanks council defines that, but it sure sounds like a fancy name for a first step in complete regulation of alcohol in the entire city. Wouldn't a private residence be the first thing considered an alcohol impact zone? This alone scares me...
As for the license itself, I was under the impression there had to be compelling proof the individual applicant had either a history of related infractions or an inability to properly follow state law before being denied a license.
I could be wrong on this, but I think Mr. Kohls should file a lawsuit against the city of Fairbanks; he has been singled out under the law and deserves redress.
seanwhite- the council did only make a recommendation that is more apt to be heard by the ABC board, but they did not have the final word, the ABC board will. If you dont believe me, just wait and read the next article on further actions as they happen.
When I first came to Fairbanks, this neighborhood was safe and family-oriented with family restaurants and such. I don't remember any drunks hanging around. Now it has become a seedy neighborhood with several businesses that most folks would call undesirable. Personally, I would be afraid to go into this neighborhood alone. The neighbors have a right to fight to keep the neighborhood from going further downhill.
There is such a need for a grocery store in this part of town that I'm sure residents would be willing to pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to walk to the store - or send their kids, if it was safe.
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