Senate bill
would raise hurdles
to liquor license

The legislation aims to save
communities from deterioration

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

Punchbowl resident Sheryl-Ann Holland has seen how a nearby store that sells liquor brought down her neighborhood.

Holland, her mother and grandmother have watched as their once peaceful neighborhood lane deteriorated. She said drunks have peeped in their windows, attempted to enter their home and stolen things from their property.

"Communities should have the right to be informed about any establishment that will be obtaining a liquor license and the impact it may have on their residence, churches and schools near and around this establishment," the graduate student said.

The Senate Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee passed a bill yesterday that amends the state liquor license law to require liquor investigators to consider the adverse effects a new license would have on the surrounding community.

Senate Bill 2934 also adds historic preservation and residential protection as areas designated as special liquor districts, which have increased requirements for those who want to transfer certain classes of liquor licenses.

The measure is the Legislature's attempt to resolve recurring complaints by neighborhood boards and community leaders about the problems caused with nearby bars and strip clubs by strengthening the influence the community has on the licensing of liquor establishments.

The bill now goes before the Senate for a vote before it is sent to the House for consideration.

Ralph Shumway, founder and coordinator of the Waikiki Citizens Patrol, told senators yesterday that residential communities usually welcome businesses because there is potential for a prosperous relationship.

But when bars, nightclubs and other liquor-serving establishments proliferate, he said the community is mired in vice and property crimes, violence and graffiti that drive down property value and physically mar the area.

"This bill will help to ensure that our homes and our lives are not overlooked when decisions on liquor licenses are made," Shumway said.

John Breinich, chairman of the Ala Moana-Kakaako Neighborhood Board, said his neighborhood has the highest concentration of bars, strip clubs and hostess bars in Honolulu. As a result, other businesses have been discouraged from setting up shop there. It is time to restore a balance in these areas, he said.

"For too long, the pendulum has swung toward the favor of these liquor establishments to the detriment of the residential and business community where they are located," Breinich said.

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