Easy Stop seeks hard-liquor license

Appeals to City Council for ‘letter of public convenience;’ ABC has final say|

The City Council next Monday will consider an application from the Easy Stop Market on Broadway to sell hard liquor. However, both local law enforcement and teen-drinking watchdogs have come out strongly against it.

Located at 925 Broadway, Easy Stop currently sells beer and wine and its owner, Barjinder Kaloya, is requesting permission to add liquor sales by converting its Type 20 permit to a Type 21 license.

California’s Alcohol Beverage Commission has a formula for how many off-sale retail establishments can sell hard alcohol per capita and the City of Sonoma is already over-concentrated, says Sonoma Police Chief Bret Sackett.

“We should have seven outlets selling hard liquor and we have 11,” said Sackett.

Because the City of Sonoma is already above its limit, a “letter of public convenience or necessity” from local government would need to accompany the Easy Market application to ABC.

Sackett, who serves as a gatekeeper at the request of the City Council on issues like this, denied the letter for Easy Stop. Kaloya’s appeal of that decision will come before the Council at its Dec. 12 meeting.

In denying the letter, Sackett highlighted two reasons. First, is that the Easy Stop location is deemed “high crime,” in that that part of the city has 20 percent more incidents of crime per year than the city average. Sackett said police had been dispatched to that location eight times in the past year.

Second, he said, is because the store parking lot is a place where students from the Sonoma Valley High school and Adele Harrison Middle School hang out.

“The store is right on their path to and from school and students are frequently in and out of the Easy Stop buying snacks,” he said.

Sonoma Valley Unified School District Superintendent Louann Carlomagno is also concerned about the application.

“As superintendent, I’m strongly opposed to Easy Stop’s hard liquor license application,” she said. “Research indicates that areas with a high number of young adults and a large number of alcohol outlets may create an unusually high risk of health problems, including excessive drinking.”

Leslie Nicholson, founder of the parent support network, RISK-Sonoma (Resources, Information, Support and Knowledge) agrees. “I believe that City Council and the rest of the community needs to pay attention and take a stand with the police,” she said.

Sackett said that ownership of the Easy Stop has changed hands a few times in recent years and that he has denied this request at least twice before.

“We’re a small town geographically. Customers only need a drive a minute to find alcohol for sale so limiting access wasn’t a concern for me,” said Sackett. “We’re seeing an increase in alcohol possession and use by minors in Sonoma.” He added that, while the number of incidents hasn’t gone up dramatically, the number of teens involved in the incidents has increased and the level of intoxication is higher.

Sackett was not surprised by the recent Index-Tribune survey about underage drinking which found 72 percent of respondents believe it’s “always been a problem and continues to be.” Twenty-one percent of respondents said teen drinking is growing worse.

He cited the case of a young teenage girl who drank so much last June that she fell into a coma and was hospitalized for several days. “We’re concerned because we’re seeing a real uptick in the number of alcohol-rated cases that are resulting in emergency department visits,” Sackett said.

Even if the City Council denies Easy Stop’s appeal for a “letter of convenience or necessity,” the final determination on the Type 21 application is up to the California ABC. John Carr, ABC’s public information officer, said that Easy Stop could expect a decision within 90 days of its Sept. 20 filing.

Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.

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