Mission Viejo commission continues decision on Chevron’s request to sell distilled spirits, directs staff to craft conditions

The Mission Viejo Planning & Transportation Commission on July 13 continued a public hearing on a conditional-use application from Chevron Stations to upgrade an existing on-site alcohol license so the store can sell distilled spirits. Staff recommended denial, citing public-safety concerns and police memos, but commissioners asked staff to draft an alternative resolution with operational conditions and scheduled the item for a date-certain in September.

In a staff presentation, the planner summarized concerns raised by Captain Jonathan Larson of Mission Village Police Services and by staff review, concluding the permit “may pose a potential risk to the city and the residents of Mission Viejo” and recommending denial. Staff reported that the site is adjacent to Interstate 5 ramps, within a half mile of residences and near other alcohol outlets, and noted neighborhood collision and nuisance concerns.

Steve Rawlings, a consultant for Chevron Stations Inc., told the commission Chevron has operated the location for 27 years and offered several voluntary conditions to reduce risk, including storing bottles behind the cashier, locking coolers and stopping alcohol sales earlier than the current 2 a.m. cutoff. Rawlings said the proposed distilled-spirit sales would occupy about 41 square feet of sales area and that his company uses mystery shoppers and documented staff training to reduce illegal sales. He argued peer-reviewed studies and a records request he made showed a low probability that sales at the gas station would increase DUIs.

Commissioners pressed for specifics. One commissioner described police input that there were “120 plus calls for service in the immediate area over the past two years,” plus narcotics surveillance and collisions in the interchange; the applicant responded that his records-request returns showed 50 calls for DUI citywide and that some of the police categorizations (open container, public intoxication) may not appear in the same data sets. The applicant acknowledged differences in the counts and agreed staff should reconcile the data.

Several commissioners proposed operational conditions as part of an approval path: automatic locking compartments for alcohol displays, locating any freestanding point-of-sale displays behind the cashier, prohibiting the sale of distilled products in containers smaller than 375 milliliters, no alcohol sales after midnight, and periodic coordination with law enforcement to review incidents and compliance.

Members also debated legal limits of local conditions because ABC (the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control) supervises license terms. One staff member cautioned the commission to avoid conditions that may be preempted by state licensing law; other operational conditions that focus on store processes and neighbor coordination were described as within local land-use or nuisance authority.

Given the outstanding data questions and the legal-implementation concerns, the commission voted to continue the hearing to a date-certain in September and directed staff to prepare a resolution for approval that incorporates the operational measures the commission discussed. The continuance preserves the record and gives staff time to craft findings and specific condition language for the commission’s consideration.