ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms Planning Commission, August 6, 2024
Approval of a liquor license and 29's dollar store conundrum
[Correction added 3 August 2024 at 4:10 pm to list a meeting date of August 6]
The City of Twentynine Palms Planning Commission is set to hold their regularly scheduled meeting at City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road., on this Tuesday, August 6, at 5 pm. The last Planning Commission meeting took place July 16, where Commissioners swiftly passed Development Code changes and heard comments on the July 14 flash flood. The agenda packet for this upcoming meeting can be found here— the primary item of business on the agenda involves approval of a liquor license for Family Dollar at 6345 Adobe Road.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
After Planning Commission announcements, you can comment on items not on the agenda. Public comments on agenda items will be requested when the item is discussed. Fill out a green comment sheet for public or agenda item comments and hand it to the staff, usually sitting at the desk at the front of the room on the right side. You have three minutes to make your comments.
You may also email comments to Planning Commission members and Keith Gardner, the Community Development Director, and request that comments be read at the meeting.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The only item on the Consent Calendar is approval of last meeting’s minutes. Commissioners will then hold a Public Hearing on approval of a conditional use permit for a Type 20 Off-Sale Beer and Wine License.
PUBLIC HEARING
Item 2: CUP23-000010 Family Dollar for the addition of a Type 20 Alcohol License
Decisions Consulting, on behalf of the Family Dollar store at 6355 Adobe Road, applied in August 2023 for a conditional use permit to allow the sales of beer and wine at the store.
The staff report attached to the agenda states:
“Family Dollar has applied for a Type 20 Off-Sale Beer and Wine License, which ‘authorizes the sale of beer and wine for consumption off premises where sold.’ The building is approximately 8,059 square feet and the applicant proposes to use 70 square feet of floor area for alcohol display and sales.”
According to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Twentynine Palms has 49 businesses that hold some type of active retail liquor license, including both on and off sale.
California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) bases liquor license approvals on a formula that corresponds to the number of already-existing liquor licenses within a given census tract. According to the Staff Report:
“Data from ABC states that three (3) licenses are allowed within this census tract, and there are currently three (3) existing licenses. Therefore, the City must make a finding of Public Convenience or Necessity before ABC can issue a license. Given that Twentynine Palms is a small city, most establishments that sell alcohol are concentrated along the two main arterials, Highway 62 and Adobe Road. It is not unusual to have a concentration of such establishments given this geography.”
The report does not list any specific reason for granting the conditional use permit under public convenience or necessity.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015. In a March 2024 press release, Dollar Tree announced that they are slated to close more than 600 Family Dollar locations due to “an evaluation of current market conditions and individual store performance.” In addition, another 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores are set to close as their building leases expire in the next few years. The report did not specify which locations.
Twentynine Palms has four dollar stores: two Dollar Generals, one Dollar Tree, and one Family Dollar, with both Dollar General locations holding off-sale liquor licenses. Such dollar store chains are often synonymous with food deserts—areas without access to full service grocery stores. Lack of nutrient-rich foods and lack of fresh produce on dollar store shelves further exacerbates this food desert concept.
A 2023 study published by the Institute for Local Self Reliance states,
“The chains appear to seek out food deserts and, where those conditions do not yet exist, they often create them by pushing local grocers out of business. Their presence can also lock in a lack of fresh food for the long-term by making it difficult for a new grocery store to obtain financing, take root, and succeed. And while their impact on grocery stores is particularly consequential, dollar stores undermine other types of businesses too, and can diminish a community’s prospects.”1
Also cited in the City’s staff report are three goals of the City’s General Plan, citing that approval of the Family Dollar Conditional Use Permit for off-site beer and wine sale license would be in line with the following:
Goal LU-2: Protect existing neighborhoods and the areas natural surrounding by encouraging development that is compatible with the City's small-town character.
Goal LU-6: Promote development of a well-balanced community that can adequately meet the needs of future residents and promotes economic development.
Goal LU-10: Promote a high quality of life for Twentynine Palms residents by developing and sustaining a strong and diverse local economy.
The Desert Trumpet delved into Twentynine Palms’s liquor licenses back in August 2023, highlighting potential inconsistencies with their issuance when backdropped against the City’s General Plan, zoning regulations, and socioeconomic status of residents.
In its report, Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the conditional use permit for the Family Dollar liquor license; alternatives are to request additional information from staff and continue the hearing or deny the permit.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR UPDATES
Since there are no Study Sessions planned, the meeting will conclude with updates from Community Development Director Keith Gardner.
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Institute for Local Self Reliance Report : The Dollar Store Invasion (2023)
Such a bad idea