Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Screws put to City Heights market's booze permit

"There was no error! Absolutely no error!”

“We’re not a liquor store, we’re a supermarket like Vons or Albertsons,” said Sami Jihad.
“We’re not a liquor store, we’re a supermarket like Vons or Albertsons,” said Sami Jihad.

On July 20, a public hearing was held to decide the fate of My Market’s (4111 Home Avenue) Type 21 liquor license, which permits the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for offsite consumption.

The state bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control granted the store a Type 21 license in April of last year. At the time, My Market already had a Type 20 license, which permits the sale of only beer and wine.

In May 2015, based on a complaint, the city's code enforcement division opened a case concerning the license not having a conditional use permit, required when there's a high crime rate, oversaturation of alcohol licenses, and/or the liquor outlet is close to residences or schools.

A July 13 memo to the hearing officer documents the approval of the conditional use permit by the police department and the city.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Suggested conditions by the police included no sales of single or small containers, no alcohol advertising visible from the exterior, no video games, and the posting of a “No Loitering” sign.

The market's proximity to a Head Start preschool is one reason why the state should not have granted the license to sell hard liquor.

At the July 20 hearing, Patty Vaccariello, chair of the City Heights Area Planning Committee, reiterated what she wrote to the city on May 9 after her committee voted against the conditional use permit.

She pointed to the oversaturation of liquor licenses (three authorized, eight issued), a crime rate of 144.8% of the citywide average, the close proximity of a Head Start preschool (next door), an existing Type 21 liquor store within 450 feet (Anderson’s Market), the increasing homeless population, and a methadone clinic within one-quarter mile.

Yellow dots indicate stores with liquor licenses

Councilmember Marti Emerald’s testimony echoed five others who testified in opposition when she said, “We have to put our foot down somewhere. This isn’t a new issue. In many of our older and lower-income neighborhoods, in fact, it’s a very old issue that still hasn’t been resolved.”

A resident who lives in housing across the street from My Market testified that she calls the police at least once a week due to homeless drinking and fighting in the My Market strip mall.

One question yet to be answered by the city is why they signed a zoning affidavit in 2014 stating that a conditional use permit wasn’t necessary. This affidavit is what led to the Type 21 license being issued by the state in error. The city declined to shed light on what happened. The attorney representing Anderson’s Market said that in 15 years of assisting liquor-license applicants, he had never seen anything like it.

By far the lengthiest testimony came from Sami Jihad, representing the owner of My Market, Samim Bidi. Jihad padded his three-minute time slot to near twenty minutes by borrowing time from four to five other supporters.

Jihad started off by saying, “As far as the [conditional use permit] is concerned, everybody is saying that there was an error. There was no error! Absolutely no error!” He then said that while he agreed to go through the hearing, he didn’t have to.

Jihad then started pulling out exhibits that included letters of support and a petition with 408 signatures.

Jihad went to lengths to downplay the amount of alcohol for sale in the store by repeatedly stating, “We’re not a liquor store, we’re a supermarket like Vons or Albertsons.” He claimed that alcohol took up less than 20 percent of the 3500-square-foot market.

The hearing officer, Duke Fernandez, told Jihad that he visited My Market on July 19 and that he thought there was an excessive amount of alcohol in the store. Fernandez then asked Jihad if he had calculations as to how much square footage was devoted to alcohol. In lieu of hard numbers, Jihad talked about how competitive the store's prices are.

Fernandez then asked Vaccariello if she preferred My Market to sell hard alcohol with conditions or beer and wine without conditions. Vaccariello said she was told by city staff that My Market would have to reapply for a Type 20 license with conditions if denied the Type 21 permit. Renee Mezo from the city refuted this by saying that My Market could have their Type 20 license back without conditions since it superseded the conditional use permit requirement.

At this point, Bidi (owner of My Market) said, “We purchased over $100,000 of liquor. If we aren’t allowed to sell it, we aren’t allowed to return it where I purchased.”

As Fernandez rendered his decision to deny the permit, he commented on how difficult the decision was, but in the end, he couldn’t ignore the high crime rate and the oversaturation of liquor licenses.

“The one that bothers me the most is [the proximity] of a Head Start daycare center with preschool age children. And the other factor is being within 100 feet of a residential zoned neighborhood.”

My Market has until 5:00 p.m. on August 3 to appeal the decision.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
“We’re not a liquor store, we’re a supermarket like Vons or Albertsons,” said Sami Jihad.
“We’re not a liquor store, we’re a supermarket like Vons or Albertsons,” said Sami Jihad.

On July 20, a public hearing was held to decide the fate of My Market’s (4111 Home Avenue) Type 21 liquor license, which permits the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for offsite consumption.

The state bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control granted the store a Type 21 license in April of last year. At the time, My Market already had a Type 20 license, which permits the sale of only beer and wine.

In May 2015, based on a complaint, the city's code enforcement division opened a case concerning the license not having a conditional use permit, required when there's a high crime rate, oversaturation of alcohol licenses, and/or the liquor outlet is close to residences or schools.

A July 13 memo to the hearing officer documents the approval of the conditional use permit by the police department and the city.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Suggested conditions by the police included no sales of single or small containers, no alcohol advertising visible from the exterior, no video games, and the posting of a “No Loitering” sign.

The market's proximity to a Head Start preschool is one reason why the state should not have granted the license to sell hard liquor.

At the July 20 hearing, Patty Vaccariello, chair of the City Heights Area Planning Committee, reiterated what she wrote to the city on May 9 after her committee voted against the conditional use permit.

She pointed to the oversaturation of liquor licenses (three authorized, eight issued), a crime rate of 144.8% of the citywide average, the close proximity of a Head Start preschool (next door), an existing Type 21 liquor store within 450 feet (Anderson’s Market), the increasing homeless population, and a methadone clinic within one-quarter mile.

Yellow dots indicate stores with liquor licenses

Councilmember Marti Emerald’s testimony echoed five others who testified in opposition when she said, “We have to put our foot down somewhere. This isn’t a new issue. In many of our older and lower-income neighborhoods, in fact, it’s a very old issue that still hasn’t been resolved.”

A resident who lives in housing across the street from My Market testified that she calls the police at least once a week due to homeless drinking and fighting in the My Market strip mall.

One question yet to be answered by the city is why they signed a zoning affidavit in 2014 stating that a conditional use permit wasn’t necessary. This affidavit is what led to the Type 21 license being issued by the state in error. The city declined to shed light on what happened. The attorney representing Anderson’s Market said that in 15 years of assisting liquor-license applicants, he had never seen anything like it.

By far the lengthiest testimony came from Sami Jihad, representing the owner of My Market, Samim Bidi. Jihad padded his three-minute time slot to near twenty minutes by borrowing time from four to five other supporters.

Jihad started off by saying, “As far as the [conditional use permit] is concerned, everybody is saying that there was an error. There was no error! Absolutely no error!” He then said that while he agreed to go through the hearing, he didn’t have to.

Jihad then started pulling out exhibits that included letters of support and a petition with 408 signatures.

Jihad went to lengths to downplay the amount of alcohol for sale in the store by repeatedly stating, “We’re not a liquor store, we’re a supermarket like Vons or Albertsons.” He claimed that alcohol took up less than 20 percent of the 3500-square-foot market.

The hearing officer, Duke Fernandez, told Jihad that he visited My Market on July 19 and that he thought there was an excessive amount of alcohol in the store. Fernandez then asked Jihad if he had calculations as to how much square footage was devoted to alcohol. In lieu of hard numbers, Jihad talked about how competitive the store's prices are.

Fernandez then asked Vaccariello if she preferred My Market to sell hard alcohol with conditions or beer and wine without conditions. Vaccariello said she was told by city staff that My Market would have to reapply for a Type 20 license with conditions if denied the Type 21 permit. Renee Mezo from the city refuted this by saying that My Market could have their Type 20 license back without conditions since it superseded the conditional use permit requirement.

At this point, Bidi (owner of My Market) said, “We purchased over $100,000 of liquor. If we aren’t allowed to sell it, we aren’t allowed to return it where I purchased.”

As Fernandez rendered his decision to deny the permit, he commented on how difficult the decision was, but in the end, he couldn’t ignore the high crime rate and the oversaturation of liquor licenses.

“The one that bothers me the most is [the proximity] of a Head Start daycare center with preschool age children. And the other factor is being within 100 feet of a residential zoned neighborhood.”

My Market has until 5:00 p.m. on August 3 to appeal the decision.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Next Article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.