Politics & Government
Starbucks Needs City Approval Too Before Selling Alcohol
The local planning commission must hand down a key approval before the Agoura Road Starbucks can sell beer and wine.
The Calabasas Planning Commission is going to have to play a role in Starbucks' efforts to obtain a beer and wine license for its Agoura Road location.
The coffee chain to the state's Alcohol Beverage Control last week for a Type 41 license, but approval won't be granted unless the city of Calabasas first issues a conditional use permit, said ABC District Administrator Armando Gonzalez.
That would require Starbucks to file a separate application with the city, something that will be done very soon, said spokesman Zack Hutson.
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Planning Commissioner Robert Lia said he could not comment on the matter because it's not before the commission, while his colleagues did not respond to emails for comments at press time.
Vice Mayor Mary Sue Maurer was able to speak on the matter, saying that the community seems to be demanding more opportunities to socialize.
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"With and offering fine wine tasting at their Calabasas stores, it tells me that they, along with Starbucks, are meeting a demand in our community for this type of socializing opportunity," she said.
But Dale Reichender, a westside resident who frequents the Agoura Road Starbucks, said selling beer and wine would alter the atmosphere of the local coffee shop.
"I do go to the Starbucks on Agoura Road and there's usually many young kids in there on their own, often doing homework or visiting friends," he said. "Serving alcohol will basically transform the place into a bar, predictably creating an untenable, undesirable and unwanted mixture of adults drinking alcohol in too close proximity with youngsters around."
If allowed, Hutson said the Agoura Road Starbucks would sell wine and beer from 2 p.m. to closing on weekdays and noon to closing on weekends.
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