Zoning Ordinances

Background

A high density of alcohol outlets in any community is often associated with increased rates of alcohol-related diseases, crime and requests for police services (1). In California, like many states, the power to issue and revoke licenses to sell alcohol is reserved for the State by the Constitution. But local governments have constitutional authority to regulate land use -- typically through zoning ordinances -- to protect the health, welfare and safety of citizens (2). To avoid conflict with the State's authority -- known as state preemption -- local governments must base their ordinances on documented problems and design them so they are reasonably likely to prevent the identified problems. In addition, California state law bars the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control from issuing a license to sell liquor if the license conflicts with local ordinances, causes an undue concentration of licensees, or would tend to create a law enforcement problem (3).

Policies

Tailor local zoning ordinances to limit an unhealthy proliferation of alcohol sales outlets.

The Community Prevention Planning Project at the Institute for the Study of Social Change at UC Berkeley suggests that ordinances be designed to focus on four targets because of their links to increased problems:

• Proliferation: Alcohol outlets increasing faster than other types of activities;



• Infiltration: Stores that have not been selling alcohol begin to do so;



• Over-concentration: The geographic density of outlets increases;



• High-risk settings: Sales take place where other activities are incompatible with alcohol, such as at marinas, parks or gas stations (4).

Examples of zoning restrictions used by various local governments include: a 500- or 1,000-foot distance between outlets; a 500- or 1,000-foot distance from residences, schools, parks, playgrounds; and a two-per-block limitation. Exemptions from these ordinances may be appropriate for retail stores of more than 10,000 square feet and restaurants (where liquor sales are incidental to the main business). Often cited models in California include:

• The City of Oakland, which combined zoning restrictions with an education and enforcement program, conditional use permit requirements and nuisance abatement ordinances. The zoning ordinance limited alcohol outlets to at least 1,000 feet apart.



• The City of Hayward, which used its zoning ordinance to restrict outlets to at least 500 feet apart and two-per-block.

Effectiveness Data

Many public health experts believe the ability of local government to control alcohol-related problems is severely limited if no ordinance is in place that addresses alcohol operations separately from other types of commercial enterprise. The impact of alcohol outlets on alcohol abuse can be significant. For example, typically, about 20 to 25 percent of all retail outlets in California sell alcoholic beverages and about 10 to 15 percent of taxable retail sales come from alcohol (5). A 1994 report by the Vallejo Alcohol Policy Coalition estimated an annual cost of $128,000 for police responses to alcohol-related problems at 194 outlets in that city (6).

Contacts

Willie Yee
Zoning Administrator
City of Oakland Zoning Office
Phone: 510-238-3781, ext. 7
(1,000-feet restriction)

Dr. Friedner Wittman
Community Prevention Planning Program
Fax: 510-540-4731

References

1. Preventing Youth Violence: Reducing Access to Alcohol. Pacific Center for Violence Prevention, 1995. :9.
   
   
2. Preventing Youth Violence: Reducing Access to Alcohol. :8.
   
   
3. Business and Professions Code, Section 23958.
   
   
4. Wittman F. Local Control to Prevent Problems of Alcohol Availability. Alcohol: Minimizing the Harm, What Works?, 1997. :48.
   
   
5. Conditional Use Permit Process in Vallejo. Vallejo Alcohol Policy Coalition, 1994. :34.
   
   
6. Campaign to Control Alcohol Sales in Vallejo Neighborhoods. Action Alert. Vallejo Alcohol Policy Coalition.
   
   
7. Sonenshein R. The Battle Over Liquor Stores in South Central Los Angeles. Urban Affairs Review, July 1996. 31 (6): 710 - 737.
   
   

Acknowledgements

Kris Bailey, Project Director, California Women's Commission, Van Nuys, CA

Armand Brint, Prevention Coordinator, Mendocino County Public Health Dept., Ukiah, CA

Mark Capitola, Sr. Policy Director, CalPartners Coalition, Sacramento, CA

Lori Dorfman, Co-Director, Berkeley Media Studies Group, Berkeley, CA

Griffith Edwards, D.M., Editor, Addiction, National Addiction Centre, University of London, London, U.K.

Barbara Graves, M.A., P.H., Executive Director, Southwest Community Health Center, Santa Rosa, CA

Kelley Green, R.N., Ph.D., Project Director, Western Coachella Valley Health Partnership, Palm Springs, CA

Tom Greenfield, Ph.D., Sr. Scientist & Principal Investigator, Alcohol Research Group, Berkeley, CA

Eduardo Hernandez, Ph.D., Project Director, CalPartners Coalition, Sacramento, CA

Connie Johnson, Project Coordinator Vista Community Clinic, Oceanside, CA

Michelle Johnston, M.P.H., Project Coordinator, Center for Civic Partnerships, Sacramento, CA

Joan Kiley, M.A., President, California Council on Alcohol Policy, Berkeley, CA

James M. Kooler, Ph.D., Deputy Director, CA Mentor Initiative, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, Sacramento, CA

Laurie Leiber, Executive Director, Center on Alcohol Advertising, Berkeley, CA

Andrew McGuire, Executive Director, Pacific Center for Violence Prevention, San Francisco, CA

James Mosher, J.D., Senior Policy Advisor, The Marin Institute, San Rafael, CA

Julie Pyatt, M.P.H., Project Coordinator, Mendocino County Public Health Dept., Ukiah, CA

Mari Rodin, Consultant, Hopper and Rodin Associates, Ukiah, CA

Rhonda Roman, M.P.H., Project Coordinator, Sonoma County Public Health Dept., Santa Rosa, CA

Michael Sparks, Project Director, Vallejo Fighting Back Initiative, Vallejo, CA

Kathy Staples, Supervisor, Alcohol & Drug Programs, Ventura, CA

Dennis Tootelian, Ph.D., Professor of Marketing, School of Business Administration , California State University, Sacramento

Joan M. Twiss, M.A., Project Director, Center for Civic Partnerships, Sacramento, CA

Friedner D. Wittman, Ph.D., M. Arch., Policy Director, Community Prevention Planning Program, Berkeley, CA