Liquor Store Approved for Vance Road

Monday, April 23, 2007 08:05 PM

The way has been cleared for the development of a liquor store on Vance Road.

(The map at left shows the site for the proposed liquor store).

The application was to change the zoning to allow for a liquor store in the same building as the Serta Sleep Centre and the BBK Bottle depot on Vance Road.

It was a special meeting of Prince George City Council, as the public hearing was supposed to have taken place last Monday but there was a clerical error which brought about the special meeting.

City Clerk Don Schaffer informed Council the Liquor Licensing Board has placed a limit on the number of liquor stores for the Prince George population and that limit has been reached.

This application would be a transfer of the liquor store sales licence already held by Joe's Place on 2nd Avenue in downtown Prince George. There are no new licenses to be issued.

The application comes from Jordy Hoover. He already operates the BX Pub Cold Beer and Wine Store, Jordy's Lounge on Brunswick Street, Shooters Liquor Store in Redwood Square, the 10th Avenue Liquor store, and the recently closed Spruceland Liquor Store.

This plan would be to start with a store of about a thousand square foot store to.

Concerns raised included parking, the applicant plans to open up a fenced off piece of the property to allow for three parking spaces in front of the store and 4 on the side, however there would be, in all, 33 parking spaces on the full site.

One Peden Hill area resident asked how many liquor stores should there be in the area? A letter from Donna Moffat noted there are already several liquor outlets in the region including the JJ's Express, the new liquor store at the Pine Centre Mall, the Westwood Liquor Store and the Westwood Pub.

There are concerns about traffic, two residents told Council traffic is already bad getting into and out of the bottle depot. One resident expressed concern about crime saying the new liquor store at the Pine Centre Mall has been hit three times in 6 weeks, she worries a new liquor store will bring more crime into their neighbourhood.

Representing the applicant was George Paul, the former City Manager. He said the concern over how many liquor stores should be allowed is really a case of letting the market decide.

Councilor Brian Skakun says the area is already too congested and didn't support the move.

Councilor Deborah Munoz expressed concerns about the social impact and said there was a proliferation of liquor stores in the region.

Councilor Don Zurowski supported the application saying while the land use is reasonable, the free market will decide if there are too many stores .

Councilor Glenn Scott approved the move saying Jordy Hoover has a good track record and he believes Hoover's involvement will be a plus to the neighbourhood.

Mayor Colin Kinsley says if he had his way we could all buy beer in a grocery store, "Why do we have to go to two different stores?" The Mayor said the community should encourage investment on where the investor thinks is the best location for their business.

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Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007 08:05 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lunarguy on April 23 2007 8:58 PM

So is it the city or the owner of the bottle depot / serta sleep centre and now liquor store who is responsible for the paved back alley leading to the bottle depot ? It has had the hugest pothole in it for at least two years now and everyone has to drive around the hole to get down the back alley. Maybe if they fixed that up it would clear up some of the traffic issues as people have to slow down to get around it.

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 23 2007 9:05 PM

So, if the liquor store at Pine Center is being broken already when you get there, it's not a long drive to go break into the next one.

Posted by: Chadermando on April 23 2007 10:23 PM

In one sentence:
Representing the applicant was George Paul, the former City Manager. He said the concern over how many liquor stores should be allowed is really a case of letting the market decide.

In another sentence:
City Clerk Don Schaffer informed Council the Liquor Licensing Board has placed a limit on the number of liquor stores for the Prince George population and that limit has been reached.

This seems to me like it represents a city policy designed more to manipulate a controlled for profit market place via licensing, and not a policy that takes into consideration customer convenience (ie rural), or social issues (residential neighbourhoods), much less a policy of a true open market.

It looks like Jordy Hoover is the winner of the liquor licensing sweepstakes.

Posted by: jus cuz i can on April 24 2007 7:38 AM

A liquor store on every flipping corner should cut down on the Drinking and
Driving statistics! BC government missed the boat on these neighborhood stores...somebody is making money and alot of it!!

Posted by: Tom Masich on April 24 2007 10:26 AM

Zero to sixty in six years, Just what we need, another private liquor store and a back door source to bootleg liquor to juveniles.
What a laugh when the only expansion of business in the community seems to be liquor outlets, illegal drug houses. and gambling centers. Cheers to free enterprise. May you all go broke.

Posted by: concernedcitizen on April 24 2007 10:41 AM

A child was recently hit by a car at the crossing on Range and Westwood. Traffic is already a concern along Westwood and Vance Road. What is the city planning to do to make the area safe for children walking in the area to Peden Hill and John Mcinnis? What about repairing the roads and placing/repairing sidewalks, crosswalks and lights to help to moderate traffic? Will Jordy Hoover foot the bill?

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 24 2007 11:02 AM

Potter's World. (from: It's a Wonderful Life)

Look at it this way, if you get off work and buy a sixpack downtown, and you run out of beer waiting in heavy traffic to get to College Heights, you can stock up again at Vance road to make it the rest of the way home.