An
interesting aspect of Yorba Linda's new Town Center project will be
increased opportunities to consume alcoholic beverages in the
center's 15.6-acre commercial district – at a 1,100-seat theater
complex, a gourmet market's outdoor dining area and more sit-down
restaurants.
Of
course, this community is several decades past its reputation as a
bastion of temperance, when pioneer resident George Kellogg once held
the lone post-Prohibition liquor license and, with widespread public
support, sought to ensure alcohol wasn't available for sale in the
town.
Eventually,
Kellogg returned the license to a state official, since it couldn't
be held to prevent the sale of liquor, according to Kellogg's 1972
oral history interview, which puts to rest the inaccurate but
still-told tale that the license was controlled for several years by
a local church.
Today's
active license count stands at 23 off-sale (grocery, liquor stores)
and 51 on-sale (restaurants, bars). Many of the proposed Town Center
licenses will be for upscale enterprises, as noted by Dave Brantley
in a recent report to the Planning Commission.
For
example, City Council-selected developer Zelman Retail Partners is
negotiating with Regal Entertainment to operate a 10-auditorium movie
complex that will sell alcohol and provide “large, leather
reclining chairs with foot rests that automatically adjust.”
Yorba
Linda officials have examined a four-page list of 38 conditions
governing the sale of alcohol in one of three Newport Beach theaters
currently serving spirits.
Brantley
noted: “Newport Beach has been successful in allowing this new
phenomenon... while ensuring that a healthy environment for residents
and businesses is preserved, particularly with respect to...issues
associated with underage drinking within darkened movie auditoriums.”
A
typical condition is “a limit of two glasses of wine or beer per
screening” served in “special cups that distinguish alcoholic
beverages from non-alcoholic,” with “special training” required
for employees.
“Additionally,
it is important to note that the price of alcoholic beverages when
served in theaters” – $7 to $20 per 12-ounce beer or six- to
eight-ounce cup of wine – “has the effect of limiting alcohol
consumption in theaters,” Brantley stated.
“Police
Services will be assisting with tailoring appropriate conditions of
approval for the proposed Yorba Linda facility,” Brantley noted.
The
developer also is in discussions with Bristol Farms, a specialty
market that would sell alcohol for off-site consumption, have a small
cafe serving beer and wine and hold wine tastings on a regular basis.
And two
sit-down and some fast-casual restaurants are expected, so up to six
additional liquor license approvals “as an accessory to food
service would be satisfactory.” A finding of “public convenience
and necessity” by the city might be required due to the large
number of licenses proposed.