Opinion ID: 1495824
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The First Hearing and the First Order

Text: On June 17 and June 24, 1998, the Board held a public hearing on Tiger's application. Willie Blount, an investigator with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs assigned to the Board, testified that the area surrounding Tiger Mart is primarily residential in nature and that Tiger Mart is in a C-1 zoning district. [5] According to Mr. Blount, there were four other businesses with alcohol licenses in the immediate vicinity, three of which were no more than one block away, within sight of Tiger Mart; [6] the fourth, a wholesale distributor (House of Wines, Inc.) which was not open to the public, was two or three blocks away. It was Mr. Blount's professional opinion that there was already an overconcentration of licensed retail establishments (two A's and a B) in the neighborhood. Several local residents testified against Tiger's application for a license transfer. Their principal contention was that granting a license would result in an overconcentration of licensed establishments in the neighborhood. They also stated that the licensed stores that were already there had trash problems and that the neighborhood was struggling to deal with loitering and panhandling. One witness, Amanda Lyons, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, testified that loitering and public drinking had been a problem at nearby Dakota Liquors and voiced concern that similar activities would take place in the shopping plaza if Tiger Mart were granted a license. In fact, Ms. Lyons had recently seen individuals loitering and drinking in an area adjacent to Tiger Mart's parking lot, which she reported to the police. Other witnesses testified that public drinking and loitering were already a problem in the shopping plaza and reported seeing men drinking out of containers hidden in brown paper bags. Clayton Butler, another longtime resident and former president of the Lamont-Riggs Citizens Association, said that he had obtained signatures from more than 745 people in the neighborhood who were opposed to Tiger Mart's obtaining a license, primarily because they feared overconcentration. Still another witness, Reverend Grayland Ellis Hagler, commented that the presence of yet another alcohol-licensed business would result in further decline of an already vulnerable neighborhood. Ronnie Kim, the co-owner of Tiger Mart, acknowledged that his need for a license was based on a desire for increased profits. He did not recall having trouble with loiterers inside or outside his store, but he conceded that on occasion he noticed some in the surrounding area. Mr. Kim could not comment on whether property values in the neighborhood had gone down since he opened his store. On December 16, 1998, the Board issued an order granting Tiger's transfer application for a Class B license. While the Board acknowledged the presence of four other licensed establishments in the surrounding area, it ruled that granting a license to Tiger would not have an adverse effect on the peace, order, and quiet of the neighborhood. The Board was persuaded, in part, by Tiger's successful experience in operating a similar full service grocery store . . . offering beer and wine in nearby Prince George's County, Maryland. The Board also found that granting a license to Tiger would not create or contribute to an overconcentration [of licensed establishments] because of the relatively small amount of floor space that would be used for the sale of beer and wine, and thus would not have an adverse effect on local property values.