I FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 5, 2007 , " COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT

June 5,2007

TO: City Council

FROM: City Manager Prepared by: Kirk Lindsey Director of Community Development

SUBJECT: FINDING OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE IN THE MAnER OF THE ISSUANCE OF A TYPE 21 (OFF-SALE GENERAL) ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE FOR THE (a.k.a. THRIFTY PAYLESS) AND STORE, 2405 SOUTH

RECOMMENDATION:

That the City Council make a finding of public convenience in the matter of the issuance of a Type 21 (off-sale general) alcoholic beverage license for the sale of packaged alcoholic beverages at the Rite Aid (a.k.a. Thrifty Pay less) Pharmacy and Retail Store, 2405 South Broadway.

• BACKGROUND:

Rite Aid is a pharmacy and retail store currently located at 2410 South Broadway in Pavilion shopping center. The business intends to move to a new location at 2405 South Broadway, in Santa Maria Commons (the Kohl's Shopping Center) in a building that is under construction.

Section 23958 of the Business and Professions Code relates to alcoholic beverage licensing, and allows the City Council some authority and responsibility regarding the issuance of certain types of alcoholic beverage licenses. This authority and responsibility relates to new locations where there is a higher than average number of alcoholic beverage licenses and/or a higher than average crime rate (described as "undue concentration"). When this situation occurs, State law allows Council to make a determination of public convenience or necessity, thus allowing the alcoholic beverage license to be issued, and also allows Council not to make a determination of public convenience or necessity. (If Council does not make a determination of public convenience or necessity, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), upon receipt of an appeal, may still issue the license if the applicant shows the Department that public convenience or necessity would be served by the issuance.)

Section 23958 states that a census tract which exceeds the ratio of licenses to population in the county is considered an area of "undue concentration" of licenses. • This property is located in Census Tract 20.11, which is an area of "undue concentration" of off-sale alcoholic beverage licenses. The Alcoholic Beverage Control 31 City Council October 17, 2006 Page 2 office reports that there are 15 existing off-sale licenses in that census tract, and the number of licenses authorized is 5, based on Section 23958. Therefore, this property • is located in an area of "undue concentration" of licenses.

Section 23958 states that a crime reporting district which exceeds the average number of reported crimes in the City by 20 percent is considered an area of "undue concentration" of crime. This property is located in Crime Reporting District 88, which is not an area of "undue concentration" of crime according to the report of the Police Department.

Council Policy

Previous Council policy has been for all applications to be placed on the consent calendar with a staff recommendation that the Council make a determination of public convenience.

Council retains the option to remove the application from the Consent Calendar to consider other action or request additional information. If Council requests information to be prepared for consideration, the application would need to be continued to a future meeting.

DISCUSSION:

Applicant's Statement: The applicant has provided the following information in support of the issuance of a finding of public convenience: Thrifty Payless, Inc., intends to relocate Rite Aid #5836 from its current location at 2410 South Broadway in Santa Maria CA to a newly constructed free-standing building of over 16,000 sq. ft. The new building is located at 2405 South Broadway, approximately 1110 of a mile from the store's current location. A significant rationale for the move is to maximize convenience to local shoppers to facilitate a "one-stop" shopping experience. As such, in addition to a broad array of household goods and health and beauty aids in our general merchandise sections, we intend to operate the following departments: • Pharmacy • Pre-Packaged Food & Drink • One-Hour Photo • Alcoholic Beverages We will also seek to make shopping at the location more convenient to our patrons by offering ample parking at the free-standing location, and for our pharmacy customers, by offering a drive-through. Although the area is deemed to be over-concentrated with alcoholic beverage licenses, the transfer of Rite Aid #5836's license from its current store to the proposed new store will not result in a net increase of off-premise liquor licenses. • City Council October 17, 2006 Page 3

Rather, it will continue to selVe an established customer base from a newer, more • customer-friendly building, selVing both public convenience and necessity. Consequently, we respectfully request that the City of Santa Maria issue a Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity for the new location.

Police Department Report: The Police Department states no objection to a finding of Public Convenience, since the business is currently operating at 2410 S. Broadway in the Broadway Pavilion shopping center and is merely moving across the street to a new building.

Alternatives: The City Council could determine not to make a finding of public convenience, thereby transferring the responsibility for making the finding to Alcoholic Beverage Control if an appeal is filed.

Fiscal Considerations: Approval of the alcoholic beverage license would assist the applicant in maintaining an economically viable business.

Impact to the Community: A finding of "public convenience," thus allowing the issuance of the alcoholic beverage license, would provide a higher degree of convenience for citizens of Santa Maria who • are purchasers of alcoholic beverages.

KIRK E. LINDSEY, DIREC Community Development Department

Attachments 1) Copy of the application for the alcoholic beverage license. 2) Copy of communication from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control 3) Copy of the statement of the applicant in support of a finding of public convenience or necessity. 4) Copy of the Police Department report .

• DepaItment of Alcoholic Beverage Control State of APPLICATION FOR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE(S) ABC 21 J (6199)

Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control File Number: 451670 3220 5. Higuera 5t. Receipt Number: 1605840 Ste. 233 Geographical Code: 4204 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Copies Mailed Date: (805)543-7183 Issued Date: DISTRICT SERVING LOCATION: SAN LUIS OBISPO RECEIVED First Owner: THRIFTY PAYLESS INC Name of Business: RITE AID 5836 MAR I 2007 Location of Business: S BROADWAY & MCCOYo~N.~ j ,,_ -'-'" swe ')..40§ '7. P"-r~~t1 SANTA MARIA, CA 93454-7817 County: SANTA BARBARA Is premise inside city limits? Yes Census Tract 0020.11 Mailing Address: PO BOX 3165 (If different from A TIN LICENSING premises address) HARRISBURG, PA 17105·3165 Type of licenseCs): 21 Transferor'S license/name: 309848 / THRIFTY PAYLES Dropping Partner: Yes __ No X

Transaction Type Fee Type Master Dup Date Fee OFF-SALE GENERAL PREMISE TO PREMISE TRANS NA y o 03il6/07 $100.00 Total $100.00

Have you ever been convicted of a felony? No Have you ever violated any provisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, or regulations of the· Department pertaining to the Act? No Expl:lin any MYes" answer to the above questions on an attachment which shall be deemed part of this application.

Applicant agrees Ca) that any manager employed in an on-sale licensed premise will have all the qualifications of a licensee, and (b) that he will not violate or cause or permit to be violated any of the provisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA County of SANTA BARBARA Date: March 16, 2007 Under penalty of perjury, each person w/lOse signature appears below, certifies and says: (I) He is an applicant, or one of the applicants, or an executive officer of the applicant corporation, named jn Ihe foregoing application, duly authorized to make this application on its hehalf; {2J that he has read the foregoing and knows the contents thereof and thai each of the above statemenlS therein made are true; (3) that no person other than the applicant or applicants has any direct or indirecl il)terest in the applicant or applicant's business to be conducted under the (icense(sj for which lhis npplication is made; (4) that the ltansfer application or proposed transfer is not made to satisfy the payment of a loan or to fulfill an agreement emered into more than ninety (90) days preceding the day on which the transfer application is filed with the Department or to gain or establish a preference to or for any credhor or transferor or to defraud or injure any creditor of transferor; (5) thaI the transfer application may be wilhdrawn by either the ilpplicant or the licensee with no resulting liability to Ihe Department. Applicant NameCs) Applicant Signature(s)

THRIFTY PA YLESS INC See 211 Signature page • ATTACHMENT 1 •

Subject: Thrifty Payless Inc. pending #21-451670

Thank you for the inquiry on this pending application.

This premises is ,located in Census Tract 0020.11. There are a total of(5) Off-Sale licenses allowed in this Census Tract. and there are currently (15) Off-Sale licenses existing in this Census Tract. Therefore, the above Census Tract is over concentrated with licenses requiring a determination of Public Convenience or Necessity by the Governing Body..

This premises is located in Reporting District 88. According to Santa Maria Police Department's crime statistics, Reporting District 88 is not high crime.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Nick Sartuche Investigator ," Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control 3220 South Higuera Street, Suite 233 :1, • San Luis Obispo,.CA 93401 (805) 543-1008- Office (805) 543-3814 - Fax [email protected]

• ATTACHMENT 2 • MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 3165 Harrisburg, PA 17105 • GENERAL OFFICE 30 Hunter Lane RITE AID Corporation Camp Hill, PA 17011 • (717) 761-2633

Thrifty Payless Inc's Statement Regarding Public Necessity and Convenience Rite Aid # 5836

Thrifty Payless, Inc intends to relocate Rite Aid #5836 from its current location at 2410 S Broadway in Santa Maria CA to a newly constructed free-standing building of over 16,000 sq ft. The new building is located at 2405 South Broadway, approximately 1/10 of a mile from the store's current location.

A significant rational for the move is to maximize convenience to local shoppers is to facilitate a 'one-stop' shopping experience. As such, in addition to a broad array of household goods and health and beauty aids in our general merchandise sections, we intend to operate the following departments:

• Pharmacy • Pre-Packaged Food & Drink • One Hour Photo • Alcoholic Beverages

We will also seek to make shopping at the location more convenient to our patrons by offering ample parking at the free-standing location, and for our pharmacy customers, by offering a drive through.

Although the area is deemed to be over-concentrated with alcoholic beverage licenses, the transfer of Rite Aid #5836's license from its current store to the proposed new store will not result in a net increase of off-premise liquor licenses.

Rather, it will continue to serve an established customer base from a newer, more customer­ friendly building, serving both public convenience and necessity.

Consequently we respectfully request that the City of Santa Maria issue a Letter of Public Convenience and necessity for the new location . •

ATTACHMENT 3 City of Santa Maria, California Police Department

RECEIVED • Memo APR 1 7 2G07

To: Lavonne McGee COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPT. DV.~ ___--- From: Cpl. Best

Subject: Alcohol Beverage License application for Thrifty Payless

Date: '04-12-07

In response to your request, Crime Analysis has prepared the attached memo documenting crime statistics for the area where the new "Rite Aid" building is being built at 2405 S. Broadway. The statistics confirm the area is not over concentrated for crime.

Our department has no objection to the City approving a Finding of Public Convenience for the Alcohol Beverage License application since the business is currently operating at 2410 S. Broadway and is merely moving across the street to a new building.

• ATTACHMENT 4