Politics & Government

Commission Approves Beer and Wine Shop

A planning commissioner says he does not understand how his colleagues rejected the request to sell alcohol at the Circle K, but could support the new shop, which will include on-site tasting.

Malibu locals and visitors can soon buy a surfboard and a bottle of wine in one building. The last week on Tuesday approved a conditional use permit for a retail beer and wine store in the building that includes . member Jefferson "Zuma Jay" Wagner owns the surf shop and the building.

Malibu Beach Wines will also include on-site beer and wine tasting, although there will be no seats and project representative Marissa Coughlan stressed this would not be the type of place where people would go to get drunk. Business owner Jim Palmer said the wines would be from local vineyards.

"I think this is a great opportunity for everybody to have an opportunity to sell their wines locally and to present them to the public," Palmer said.

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The commission in November rejected the request by the owners of the nearby to sell alcohol, a decision that has since been appealed. But the commission's support for Malibu Beach Wines' application was unanimous. The irony was not lost on Commissioner Jeff Jennings, the only one who supported the Circle K application.

"I supported that application and I imagine I'm going to support this application," said Jennings during the commission's deliberations. "I'm just having a hard time seeing how anybody else on the commission who voted down the Circle K [application] can support this application."

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Commissioners Joan House and John Mazza said the two applications are very different.

"As far as I'm concerned, the Circle K is where you get a road beer and a wine tasting is where you pay 30 bucks for a bottle of wine you're not likely to guzzle as you go down the highway," Mazza said.

Julie Eamer from A Safer PCH was the only person to address the commission in opposition to the application.

"If this commission is going to allow more liquor licenses, then you must take some responsibility for this because the potential consequences are too serious," Eamer said. "Does this city have a plan? How many licenses do you let in? How many places are too many?"

Wagner told Malibu Patch after the meeting that the business could open as soon as March if obtaining the alcohol license from the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control goes smoothly.

Also at the meeting, the commission approved the application for the reconstruction of . The church on Malibu Canyon Road was destroyed in the October 2007 Canyon Fire.

In addition, a permit was granted for the establishment of a 1.5-acre, 152-space temporary parking lot just north of the . It will be used for vehicles involved in the construction of the two restaurants on the Larry Ellison-owned property near the as well as the development of a house on one of the billionaire's properties in Serra Canyon.

According to the staff report, Ellison (who is not mentioned by name as is usually the case in official documents) also wants to use the lot during a future project involving the Racquet Club (which he owns) and an "upcoming development project in the Carbon Beach area." But those uses were not officially requested with this application.


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