Alcohol permit for Circle K is denied
Planners’ decision withstands appeal
LANCASTER — The City Council rejected an appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of a conditional use permit for the construction of a gas station, car wash and Circle K mini-mart with a Type 20 license for the off-sale of beer and wine at the northeast corner of Avenue K and 20th Street West.
The Council voted 4-1 on
Tuesday to uphold the denial of the Type 20 Alcoholic Beverage Control License. Mayor R. Rex Parris voted no.
Parris was willing to grant the applicant the alcohol permit if they would commit to including a hydrogen fueling station.
“Give me the hydrogen fueling station; I’ll give you the beer and wine,” Parris said during the meeting broadcast.
A representative for the applicant said the project would not move forward without the alcohol license because it would put them at such a competitive disadvantage the business would fail.
“The money that’s made off of gasoline sales, the profit margin is very thin, whereas the profit margin on alcohol is very wide,” Alicia Bartley, a representative for the applicant with the law offices Gaines &
Stacey, said during the meeting broadcast. “Having that alcohol sales there, even though it’s a small number, the profit margin is wide enough it makes the business work.”
George Passantino, another representative for the applicant, could not speak on behalf of the applicant specifically in regard to Parris’ hydrogen proposal.
“I cannot speak on behalf of the applicant. I can’t spend their money but I know that they want to work with the city,” Passantino said, adding the applicant is wiling to work with the city.
Passantino asked if there were any grants from the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District that could help pay for a hydrogen fueling station.
Lancaster will soon announce an agreement with the Japanese government to establish a sister-city relationship with a hydrogen city in Japan, Parris said.
“They are coming into Lancaster in a huge way,” Parris said. “They’re going to provide an incredible number of jobs and more importantly we become the center of hydrogen technology for the country. And that’s all going to happen within the next year; that’s why I want the fueling station.”
Parris grew agitated after the Council rejected his proposal.
“If we do not have a united voice, forget about having a hydrogen city here,” Parris said. “We are asking the nation of Japan to put a billion dollars into this community and I need to know that this Council is behind me in doing it; otherwise, I’m waiting my time. But it is a billion investment that we’re on the cusp of getting and over a liquor store I can’t get a hydrogen station in. Seriously.”
Vice Mayor Marvin Crist said the area around the project sit is oversaturated with alcohol licenses.
“But Marvin, if they give us the first hydrogen fueling station, I’m willing to bend a little,” Parris said.
“You can bend on J and 20th, you can bend on 20th and I. We don’t need to bend on this one,” Crist said.
A caller who owns a residential town home near the proposed development supported the recommendation to reject the appeal for the Type 20 alcoholic beverage license saying that although the public can get alcoholic beverages nearby, alcoholic sales near his property would increase nearby footprint and loitering in the area.
Another caller who works in the field of substance abuse asked the Council not to approve the liquor license.
Caller Randy Terrell, who lives near the project site, said he encouraged the city to work with the developer to get something at the project site to eliminate what he considered a bighted corner.
Parris also did not like the proposed design for the project.
“I hate the canopy,” Parris said. “The whole idea behind the architectural commission was to get rid of those canopies that have this garish lighting. They look like hell.”
Parris said he wants Lancaster to look more upscale than it does.
“I want there to be a clear distinction of when you enter the boundaries of Lancaster you immediately know it and it’s a good thing that you know,” Parris said. “It’s not going to take much to improve that design to improve the standards that we’re proposing.”
Bartley said she would be happy to work with city staff on design issues as well as discuss the prospect of a hydrogen fueling station with her client.
After the vote to deny the appeal on the Type 20 permit, Crist would be willing to reconsider the alcohol permit if the applicant comes back to the city.
“If they come back and they say, ‘OK, we can do this. We can put in a hydrogen thing, we can get a grant from the AVAQMD, We can put this in, we can pay for a deputy,’ then we’ll reconsider; or at least, I would,” Crist said.
The Council continued the public hearing for an associated resolution to approve the appeal to allow for the development itself without alcohol.