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Belmont Shore Residents Association MINUTES GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING April 14, 2011 The meeting was called to order by President Aileen Colon at 6:00 pm. The other members of the Executive Board present were: Elizabeth Borsting, Julie Dean, John Forstrom, Marvin Jones, Secretary Jeff Miller, and Treasurer Robert O'Connor. Executive Board members Vice President Terence Endersen, Adam Hattan, Jim Lazarus, and Heidi Van Horn were absent. Thirty-eight additional BSRA members and visitors were present, including Helene Ansel, Special Assistant to California State Senator Alan Lowenthal and Nancy Wride, Editor of the Belmont Shore-Naples Patch online news service. Librarian Debi Gurley announced several summer library events, including the evening story time program for children. The agenda for this meeting and the minutes of the March 10 meeting were approved. LBPD Commander Lisa Lopez discussed several of the crime incidents in the Shore in March. She also responded to several questions about alcohol-related arrests, including a recent attempted forced entry and arrest of the intoxicated suspect. Regarding arrests of inebriated persons, she said the police do seek and record information about where the person was drinking. Mr. Vincent Cravens, District Director of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control, spoke about the role of the agency and their activities. He indicated their main focus is enforcement activity related to underage drinking and over-serving of alcohol. He said there are 4,000 to 5,000 licenses in this area. He is supposed to have 5 investigators but he has only 2 in this area. He described the process of issuance of alcohol licenses, transfers, and conditions. Responding to questions about license conditions which require full meal service at all hours, he said this condition was not enforceable, that meal service is required only during the hours from 6 to 9 AM, 11 AM to 1 PM, and 6 PM to 9 PM. He said the "food issue is difficult and complex". He also said there was no enforcement of the condition requiring food sales to exceed alcohol sales; that audits were not practical because they "take a very long time" and there is "not a severe penalty" for non-compliance. Asked why more licenses are allowed on Second Street than are permitted under ABC guidelines, he said they are granted due to "public convenience and necessity" He also said it had to do with local governments basically requesting licenses because they helped sales tax revenue for local governments. Cravens said a City needs to issue a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) prior to ABC issuing a liquor license; they cannot issue a license without the CUP. Questioned about the difficulty of the restaurant "Me Soo Hungry" in obtaining a license, Cravens noted the possibility of an interim permit. He explained the process of license application and the way in which protests are considered. Responding to the frustration expressed by so many of the audience members about problems at various bars, Cravens recommended that residents "keep a diary or log". He said, "It's a problem, I acknowledge that". He encouraged residents to complain when there are problems; that they can only respond to complaints. He also said it is important to report problems to city staff and elected officials as well as ABC. He provided his email address: "vincent.cravens@abc.ca.gov". Joe Toney from Third District Councilman Gary Delong's office reported the status of these items: sidewalk repairs, the Termino Ave. storm drain project, and the OCTA freeway project. He noted the pending renewal of Panama Joe's entertainment permit, the alcohol license application by Boubouffe Restaurant, and the alcohol license permit for Dogz Restaurant. He answered a number of conditions related to alcohol licenses. Eric Forsberg, the resident representative member of the Parking Commission, reported these items from the March meeting: The commission approved a rate change from $1.00 per hour to $0.50 per hour for the Park Ave. lot, and approximately twenty-five of the Second Street sidewalk trees will be replaced. Treasurer O'Connor requested that BSRA make a donation of $300 to the Bay Shore Library, in gratitude for the use of their meeting room. A motion was approved unanimously authorizing the donation. Beach Committee member Bill Sheehan reported that Animal Control is conducting a campaign to educate dog beach users about the proper routes for dogs to access the Dog Beach area. Also, Beach Committee member Jim Corbett noted these changes to be made to the Bay Shore and Claremont parking lots, which will be combined into one lot: The individual parking meters will be replaced by a multi-use meter and a shower will be added for use by surfers. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm. Submitted by: Jeff Miller, Recording Secretary
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