Did you know there are currently over one hundred and twenty (120) alcohol licenses in operation in the 3.1 square mile Venice area? Which translates to forty (40) ABC liquor licenses per square mile. The average number of ABC liquor licenses in LA County is four (4) per square mile. Therefore, Venice has ten (10) times the alcohol concentration than the LA County average!
This is contrary to the applicant stating at our WLA Area Planning Commission Appeal Hearing in March of this year, that he would NOT be selling beer and wine to go!
As you know, this owner has been operating Gjusta out of compliance for over 2 years now with ZERO consideration for the surrounding neighbors. Adding ALCOHOL to the mix is a dangerous move in our residential neighborhood, 13 feet from homes.
This will set a terrible precedent for all future potential developments in Venice. We managed to block the sale of alcohol with our last round of protests and we must do it again – NOW – as this is our last chance!
Time is of the essence. All completed protest forms must be in my hand by next Wednesday, September 21, 2016. NOW IS THE MOST CRUCIAL TIME TO SPEAK UP FOR OUR FAMILIES’ QUALITY OF LIFE AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY’S SAFETY.
It is imperative that we PROTEST this immediately. You can download and print the Protest form attached to this message, then add your comments.
Please REMEMBER to CLEARLY print your name and sign with your address and date. Fill out the section “on the grounds that” and attach extra pages if necessary. THEN, deposit in secure mailbox at – 332 Vernon Ave, Venice, CA 90291 – by Wednesday 21 September, 2016. Thank you!
You do not have to be in immediate proximity of the location, anyone can oppose.
I believe it will make a powerful statement if the ABC can receive a big batch of protests from both the immediate and greater community at one time, showing our solidarity. This is how we stopped it last time, and managed to prevent a full alcohol bar going in at Gjusta, 320 Sunset for two years already – LET’S KEEP IT GOING!
If you are within 500 feet, you should have received a protest form in the mail. If you didn’t, please write on your form that you did not receive notice, as well as your protest points. You can attach more pages to your protest if you do not have enough room. Please explain exactly how having alcohol at this location will affect you. The ABC need to read specifics, not just generalizations.
Below I have listed some important fast facts you could use re: ABC liquor licenses in Venice. Please also PERSONALIZE your protest letter as much as possible. State if you are within 100 feet, 500 feet, a block, two blocks etc. If you ride your bike, walk your children past there etc. You are entitled to peaceful enjoyment in your home and safety of passage on your street and in your neighborhood.
– The ABC Regulation 61.4 states than an alcohol license “should not be issued within 100 ft of residences”, yet here we have residences within 13 feet.
– An area that is high crime and high concentration of ABC licenses is considered to be UNDUE CONCENTRATION. Therefore, 320 Sunset is located in an area considered UNDUE CONCENTRATION. By right, ABC should not issue a license in an area of Undue Concentration. - Elevated rates of Alcohol-related crimes associated with Undue Concentration in high crime areas tend to be: disturbing the peace, public intoxication, assault and battery, prostitution, loitering, graffiti and vandalism.
– There are currently in excess of one hundred and twenty (120) alcohol licenses in operation in the 3.1 square mile Venice area, which translates to forty (40) ABC liquor licenses per square mile. The average number of ABC liquor licenses in LA County is four (4) per square mile. Therefore, Venice has ten (10) times the alcohol concentration than the LA County average.
– Census Tract 2733, where 320 Sunset is located, already has a total of sixteen (16) ON-SITE sale and three (3) OFF-SITE sale liquor licenses. The allowable limit per ABC rules is actually three (3) on-site sale and the allowable limit for off-site sales is two (2). Therefore, in Census Tract 2733 there are already over 5-times the allowable limit of on site sales, and off site has been exceeded also.
Furthermore, given that Type 47 liquor licenses allow off-site sales as well as on-site consumption, in Census Tract 2733 there are six (6) Type 47 liquor licenses. This means the total OFF-SITE sales outlets could be as many as nine (9) locations, in this tract, allowing off-site sale of beer and wine – more than four (4) times the allowable limit for off-site sales.
– 320 Sunset is in LAPD Crime Reporting District 1413. There were 401 Part 1 crimes and Part 2 arrests reported in 2014. The City-wide average is 163, and the High-Crime Reporting District average is 196 for the same period. Therefore, the crime reporting District in which 320 Sunset is located has more than twice the amount of crime of the Los Angeles’ high crime reporting district average.
– In the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health report “Reducing Alcohol- Related Harms in Los Angeles County” it is reported as follows:
In Los Angeles County the average number of alcohol outlets is 16 per 10,000 people. In Venice, the average number of alcohol outlets is 30 per 10,000 people. At almost DOUBLE the average, Venice falls in the High Density category.
The findings of the report further displays the association between Alcohol Outlet Density and Alcohol-Related Harms. Having a high density of either ON-SITE or OFF-SITE outlets was associated with significantly higher rates of alcohol related harms as follows:
– Alcohol-involved Motor Vehicle Crashes are 3 times more likely
– Alcohol-Related Deaths are 5 times more likely
– Violent Crimes are 9 to 10 times more likely to occur
– According to Compstat West Traffic Division there was an 800% increase in alcohol related DUI traffic collisions in the Pacific area, in 2015 from the year prior.
– The operator regularly serves alcohol at another location out of compliance with his ABC license and his CUB, in an upstairs dwelling used as a party location — 501 Milwood/1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice. He has been cited by City of LA several times over violations of his CUB at this other location for 8 years, and has not come into compliance.
– At 320 Sunset location, the applicant has been operating this restaurant business without valid City of LA permits for over 2 years. He has been cited several times by City of LA Dept of Building and Safety, though refuses to come into compliance. Under California State Law, the ABC may not issue a liquor license if it violates an existing valid local zoning ordinance. In locales that have enacted CUP’s, such as City of LA, State liquor licenses may only be issued AFTER all zoning permits are in order. This applicant’s CUP, CDP and ENV are all still in various stages of appeal at both the City and Coastal Commission level, so issuance of an ABC license at this stage is not allowed.
Also, if you have other neighbors in your complex please encourage them to write up a protest too. One protest letter from each individual would be good, rather than just one per household. The more we can get into the ABC, the more impactful our protest will be!
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