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MINUTES Page 2 <br />City of San Leandro City Council Special Meeting-February 25, 2008 <br />Sandra Parker, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council regarding a notice she <br />received in the mail, announcing Wal-Mart's intent to sell alcohol at its Davis Street store. <br />Ms. Parker commented on Wal-Mart's lack of responsiveness to issues such as shopping carts <br />left in the neighborhood. Ms. Parker expressed concern that the sale of alcohol by Wal-Mart <br />would increase crime and other problems in the area. She requested that the Council discuss <br />this issue at a future meeting. <br />Mr. Jermanis reported that Wal-Mart has made an application to the Department of Alcoholic <br />Beverage Control (ABC) to sell beer and wine. He noted that Wal-Mart's commitment not to <br />sell firearms or groceries was included in their Conditions of Approval, but there was no <br />restriction on the sale of alcohol. Mr. Jermanis commented that the notice received by Ms. <br />Parker was required by the ABC to advise residents that a business has made an application to <br />sell alcohol, and to provide comments to back to ABC. The City's zoning allows retail <br />businesses to sell beer and wine, but the City does not have direct control over the permitting <br />of alcohol sales. The City does have the ability to register an objection if the Police <br />Department determines that there would be a problem allowing alcohol sales to take place at a <br />certain location, usually due to anover-concentration of alcohol sales in a particular area. Mr. <br />Jermanis stated that, based on the approved zoning for such a use, it is not a matter for the <br />City Council to consider, and the determination would be made by the ABC. <br />Ms. Parker stated that she contacted Wal-Mart corporate offices and asked why, as a family <br />oriented business, it would consider selling alcohol; she did not receive a response. Ms. <br />Parker stated that she also went to Wal-Mart and requested information about police activity, <br />such as theft, and was told that the police are not always called to respond to incidents of <br />shoplifting. Ms. Parker pointed out that, as a result, the public is not aware of the extent of <br />the crime problem at Wal-Mart. <br />Mr. Jermanis indicated that staff will look into the issues raised by Ms. Parker regarding <br />shopping carts in the surrounding neighborhood and criminal activity occurring at the store. <br />Mr. Jermanis stated that staff will also contact the law firm that sent the notice, to alert them <br />to the concerns that have been expressed. <br />4. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS <br />Vice Mayor Grant expressed concern regarding the issues raised by the speaker due to the <br />future Wal-Mart at L,ewelling and Hesperian. Vice Mayor Grant noted that area already has a <br />high concentration of liquor and grocery stores. <br />Councilmember Starosciak thanked Mayor Santos for an excellent presentation, remarking <br />that it was a very optimistic outlook of the last year. Regarding Ms. Parker's comments, <br />Councilmember Starosciak commented that disallowing the sale of firearms in Wal-Mart's <br />Conditions of Approval seemed to be in the spirit of not contributing to potential criminal <br />activity, and disallowing the sale of alcohol would seem to be in the same spirit. <br />Councilmember Starosciak noted that the volume of alcohol sales at Wal-Mart would likely <br />be quite large, and the proximity to the local neighborhood and current criminal activity make <br />the prospect of alcohol sales a concern for her. Councilmember Starosciak commented that <br />