Liquor Standards Would Be Useful Only If They're Specific, Enforceable

The following is a letter Ms. Beatty submitted to Michael Kuiken, the chairperson of the ANC Alcoholic Beverage Committee. Mr. Kuiken and his committee are seeking public comments on whether or not to establish community standards for stores selling liquor. Letters can be sent to Mr. Kuiken at kuikenanc6a@hotmail.com or to ANC 6A, PO Box 75115, Washington, DC 20013. (Please share your letters with the Corner Forum, too!)

I am writing to submit my comments regarding community standards for stores selling liquor in ANC 6A. I did not receive or read notice of the meeting held on February 17, but am very interested in this matter. I am, in fact, one of the organizers of the protest of license renewal for N-A Minit and the transfer of Excello license to N-A Minit.

I decided to help organize these protests after seeing the failure of voluntary agreements with these stores. Though Excello has had a voluntary agreement in place for many years, there is no enforcement, and therefore the problems continue. Therefore, I believe that the community should take a more forceful approach to the problems (which include drug dealing all around the stores). I feel that a community-wide moratorium on the sale of singles might be useful, but a standard set of guidelines for voluntary agreements would not be an effective deterrent to the problems that exist at Excello and N-A Minit. Further, the specific problems at these two establishments have more to do with criminal activity around the store than by the store, so any agreement needs to be tailored for the specific problems that exist at that location.

However, if we could establish community guidelines, and then enforce them, I believe that there may be value in establishing a "baseline" of business conduct for liquor stores. My fear however is that standards would have to be so generic that they too would be ineffective for specific problems. While I think everyone can agree on the goal, that is, well maintained businesses that don't disturb the neighborhood, the "devil is in the detail." It may be difficult to determine how the goal can be achieved.

So in summary, I think that community standards are only useful if 1) they can be enforced, and 2) if they are specific enough to address the unique circumstances behind the common concerns. I would be very much in favor of a ban on the sale of singles in this area, and would like to help in any efforts along those lines. In the meantime, I feel that the protest process is the best avenue to effect change. §