ORDERS:
ORDER AND DECISION
This matter comes before me on the application of Thomas Greene for an off-premises beer
and wine permit for Greene Grocery located at 912 Wright Boulevard in Conway, South Carolina.
After notice to the parties, a hearing was conducted on November 17, 1995. The file of the
Department of Revenue and Taxation is incorporated into the record and a copy is substituted for the
original file. At the hearing, the City of Conway Police Department was made a party-intervenor.
Based upon the evidence in this case, the applicant is granted the off-premises beer and wine permit.
FINDINGS OF FACT
I make the following findings of fact, taking into consideration the burden on the parties to
establish their respective cases and taking into account the credibility of the witnesses:
1. The applicant, Thomas Greene, is seventy years old and is a life long resident of South
Carolina and a legal resident of the United States.
2. Greene has no criminal record and is a person of good moral character.
3. Greene currently holds an on-premises permit for a club in Conway. He previously
had a beer and wine permit suspended but subsequently was issued the permit for the club.
4. The proposed location is a convenience store located on Wright Boulevard (Highway
378) near the intersection of Hemingway Street.
5. The location has been licensed for off-premises consumption of beer and wine since
the 1950's. Most recently, the owner of the location held the license which expired in June 1995.
The location has always been a neighborhood grocery store.
6. The store is open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. It sells items typically found in a
neighborhood store, including snacks, sodas, and candy.
7. The convenience store is across the street from an open lot in which people loiter
throughout the day. Some of the people standing on the lot are day laborers waiting for
transportation. Next door is a retail liquor store operated by Greene's son. Whittemore Park Middle
School is located about three-tenths of a mile from the location. There are churches in the area but
not in close proximity to the location.
8. The location is in an area which has some history of criminal activity. None of the
activity is directly related to the sale of beer and wine. There are four other locations in the
immediate area that sell beer and wine including a business across the street from the middle school.
9. The police department protests are based upon the criminal activity in the area in
particular activity occurring on the empty lot across the street. During an eighteen month period from
April 1994 through June 1995, most of the criminal incidents include sale of illegal drugs (including
crack cocaine), larceny, simple assault, and assault and battery. There were three arrests for public
drunkenness, four driving under the influence arrests, and one loitering charge. These arrests were
in the area of Hemingway and Highway 378.
10. The Conway Beautification Committee has obtained block grant money to revitalize
the Highway 378 corridor. The Conway Beautification Committee observed the area and developed
a color coded map depicting areas in the neighborhood and its condition or activity. As part of the
revitalization efforts, the committee is focusing on dilapidated buildings, vacant lots, junk cars, known
drug areas, and areas where people loiter. This area includes property near and around the proposed
location.
11. The City of Conway has enacted a municipal ordinance prohibiting loitering in a
known drug area. The area where the store is located has been deemed to be such an area. The store
is not a targeted area.
12. The protestors fear that the continued presence of beer and wine in this neighborhood
will interfere with the Committee's efforts to clean up the area.
13. Notice of the application was posted at the location and published in the Sun News
newspaper in Conway for the required time period.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Administrative Law Judge Division is vested with the powers, duties and
responsibilities exercised by the former Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and hearing officers
pursuant to Chapter 23 of Title 1. S.C. Code Ann. § 61-1-55 (Supp. 1994).
2. S.C. Code Ann. § 61-9-320 (Supp. 1994) provides the statutory requirements for the
issuance of beer and wine permits. It states in part:
No permit authorizing the sale of beer or wine may be issued unless:
(6) The location of the proposed place of business of the applicant
is in the opinion of the department a proper one. The department may
consider, among other factors, as indications of unsuitable location, the
proximity to residences, schools, playgrounds and churches. This item does
not apply to locations licensed before its effective date.
3. Although "proper location" is not statutorily defined, "rather broad discretion is vested
in the Commission in determining the fitness or suitability of a particular location." Fast Stops, Inc.
v. Ingram, 276 S.C. 593, 281 S.E.2d 181 (S.C. 1981). This determination of suitability is not solely
a function of geography, but involves an infinite variety of considerations related to the nature and
operation of the proposed business and its impact upon the community where it is to be situated.
Kearney v. Allen, 287 S.C. 324, 338 S.E.2d 335 (S.C. 1985); Schudel v. S.C. ABC Commission, 276
S.C. 138, 276 S.E.2d 308 (S.C. 1981).
4. The business is a suitable business for the area and the issuance of a beer and wine
permit for this location is appropriate. There are only four establishments in the neighborhood that
sell alcoholic beverages; one is a retail liquor store, one is a club, and two are off premises beer and
wine locations. The criminal activity in the area can not be attributed to the sale of beer and wine at
this neighborhood store. The operating hours of the store does not contribute to the activity in the
area. The loitering across the street in not a result of the sale of beer and wine. The criminal activity
is more directly related to the sale of illegal drugs in the area. The has been no showing that the
denial of the permit to sell beer and wine would reduce the incidents of crime in the Hemingway - 378
corridor.
ORDER
Based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Greene Grocery should be issued
a permit for the sale of beer and wine for off-premises consumption. Therefore, it is
ORDERED, that the Department of Revenue and Taxation issue a beer and wine permit to
Thomas Greene for Greene Grocery located at 912 Wright Boulevard in Conway, South Carolina.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
___________________________
ALISON RENEE LEE
Administrative Law Judge
November _____, 1995
Columbia, South Carolina. |
