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Commission approves CUP allowing beer and wine sales at gas station despite neighborhood objections
Summary
The Planning Commission approved Conditional Use Permit 25.0018 to add a type 20 ABC license (beer and wine) at an existing gas station, adopting police-recommended conditions; the vote was 4-0 despite multiple neighborhood speakers citing overconcentration of liquor licenses and vandalism.
Riverside County planning commissioners approved a conditional use permit to allow beer-and-wine sales at an existing gas station/convenience store, drawing multiple neighborhood objections before a 4-0 vote.
Staff presented Conditional Use Permit 25.0018 and the required public convenience and necessity (PCN) finding, describing the site as west of the I-215 Freeway with general commercial zoning and noting that staff mailed notices within a 1,000-foot radius and circulated public notices for 20 days. Staff said one comment was received from the City of Riverside and recommended approval subject to the attached conditions and advisory documents; staff also recommended a CEQA exemption for the existing facility (CEQA Guidelines §15301).
Several nearby business owners and residents opposed the CUP at the hearing. Rene Tovar said the area already contains an ARCO/AMPM about "125 feet" away and a type 21 liquor store about "300 feet" away and argued the addition would create an "undue concentration" of off-sale licenses. Javier Regalado (via translator) and Connie Avalos, both nearby business owners, testified that existing liquor stores contribute to parking problems, vandalism and public-drinking near their businesses.
An applicant representative/owner (recorded in the transcript without a spoken name) said they have owned a liquor store across from the gas station since 2009 and that they operate a clean business. The speaker said the business will comply with police and city conditions, that they will not sell single beers ("we can only sell 3 packs and up") and that the license will be operated to serve families rather than single-off-site consumption.
Commissioners discussed police-recommended conditions and whether county approval should incorporate city conditions. Staff and a principal planner said the applicant had agreed to single-sales restrictions identified by the police and that the county could include city-proposed conditions in the CUP. Commissioner (speaker 7) moved to approve the CUP with conditions; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote, recorded in the transcript as "that carries, 4 0." Commissioners also noted a mechanism in the conditions: three verified complaints within a 12-month period could trigger license revocation or additional enforcement actions.
The permit is approved with the conditions adopted at the hearing and remains subject to enforcement or revocation if operational complaints arise.
