West Covina inches closer to allowing alcohol sales at gas stations – The San Gabriel Valley Tribune

West Covina is one step closer to allowing beer and wine sales at gas station convenience stores in the city.

The Planning Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to send a proposed municipal code amendment to the City Council that, if approved, would lift a decades-old prohibition on alcohol sales at “service stations.”

Commissioners Don Holtz and Sheena Heng voted against moving the code amendment forward.

West Covina’s planning staff isn’t certain when the law was added — it appears in the current municipal code adopted in 1977 — but the fact that no existing gas stations have been grandfathered into selling alcohol “is also a clue that it has been in place a long time,” Planning Director Jeff Anderson said.

This is the fourth time in a little more than a decade that city leaders have considered lifting the ban, with unsuccessful efforts in 2008, 2010 and 2016.

Commission Chairman Herb Redholtz said he voted to move the code amendment forward to the City Council because it made the best sense for supporting West Covina business owners.

“Even though they’ve got big international corporate names on them, these (gas station owners) are independent local business people trying to feed their families and run a business,” Redholtz said.

The municipal code provision in question bars alcohol sales at “service stations,” which is one of the most obvious indicators that the ban is outdated, Redholtz said.

“Forty years ago when this prohibition went into effect, it made sense at that time,” Redholtz said. “The service stations had these 2,000-square-foot buildings, and inside were fan belts, oil, tires, hoists for cars and auto mechanics working there. That’s not the case anymore.”

Holtz has consistently opposed the change, pointing out that 55 retailers in the city already sell alcohol for consumption elsewhere, and two more are likely coming with Sprouts Farmers Market and a new 7-Eleven convenience store set to open soon.

“I consume alcohol, and I’ve never had a problem finding it in this city,” Holtz said. “It’s never been inconvenient.”

The code amendment, proposed by Mohsen Karimi, who has owned and operated the Chevron station at the southeast corner of Citrus and Workman avenues for more than 40 years, would allow gas station convenience stores to sell beer and wine.

The amendment comes with 11 standards by which business owners would have to abide if they were to sell beer and wine, including provisions that, among other things, prohibits single-container sales and requires clear signage be posted in and around the store, indicating alcohol cannot be consumed on the premises.

“We’re here to serve the people,” Karimi said. “If we can get a beer and wine license, we can add more convenience for our customers.”

The City Council will consider the code amendment during a public hearing at a future meeting.