Community Organizing

Oakland tells Liquor Stores "Shape Up or Shut Down!"

The City of Oakland, California has a message for local liquor stores: If your store causes problems, you may lose your business. The City has increased enforcement of a law that requires liquor stores be "good neighbors" by cleaning up problems in and around their property. Any store that doesn't clean up its act will be put out of business.

Oakland is using a local ordinance, passed in 1994, that allows the city to hold alcohol retailers operating under the old code-so called "grandfathered" or "deemed-approved" establishments-to newer standards if the business in question causes nuisances to its neighbors. Nuisance violations can range from minor infractions like litter and graffiti, to more serious problems like drug dealing, prostitution, and selling alcohol to underage persons. If activities in and around the establishment disturb neighbors and community residents, the City can demand that the store reduce problems. If problems continue, the City can revoke the store's operating permit and force it to close. The law, known as a "deemed- approved" ordinance, affects only businesses within city limits and allows the community to set standards for business that sell or serve alcohol. Several cities in California have these laws, including Vallejo, Oxnard, and San Diego.

Although Oakland's law has been on the books for 10 years, the City recently stepped up enforcement efforts. Under the direction of the Neighborhood Law Corps (NLC), the City put out a "report card" in April 2004 on the impact of liquor stores in Oakland. The report, called "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; A Report Card and Recommendations on Oakland's Liquor Stores," graded each store based on the number and types of violations reported. Community members then had 60 days to send their comments to the NLC for inclusion in the findings. Final results are pending, but the City has already categorized 11 of its 359 stores as "ugly" and plans to use these finding as the basis for enforcement efforts.

"This report card is a catalyst in making some really great things happen," says Joan Kiley of the Alcohol Policy Network, in Berkeley, California. "Liquor stores can be magnets for nuisance and crime activity. Enforcing the deemed-approved ordinance is a way to make neighborhoods more livable for community residents."

Many Oakland residents are thrilled with the action taken by the City and are excited to see the problem stores close. "These liquor stores are preventing our neighborhoods from recovery," says West Oakland resident Karin Mac Donald. "We need to figure out how to revoke their liquor licenses or figure out some way to shut them down." While other residents would like to see problem stores transformed into community markets rather than shut down completely, almost everyone agrees that something needs to be done.¹

The City has started enforcing code compliance at some of its most problematic stores and there are plans to address several more before year's end. "Residents have the right to expect city government to address the problems they see in their neighborhoods," said Alex Nguyen, executive director of the Neighborhood Law Corps. "That's why it is so important for people to call the police and file complaints. We won't know about it unless people tell us." For more information, contact the Neighborhood Law Corps at www.neighborhoodlawcorps.org or 510-238-6628.

¹ Boston Globe, July 10, 2004.

Bridging the Gap: Treatment, Recovery and Prevention

In September 2004, the Marin Institute took an important step to begin mobilizing the recovery, treatment and prevention communities. Held at the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, "Bridging the Gap" brought public health professionals in the fields of alcohol and other drug prevention, treatment and recovery together to begin building a cohesive movement to advance common agendas. In the past, the different groups have at times found themselves isolated from one another or competing for funding, although they often share a similar vision. "It is high time to embrace our common vision rather than our differences. Creating a more cohesive movement has the potential to improve our physical and social environments and increase resources for both treatment and prevention", said Mark Pertschuk, executive director of the Marin Institute.

Common areas of concern include systematic discrimination against people with alcohol and drug problems by insurance companies, acceptance of abstinence from alcohol use in social situations, alcohol excise taxes, and the lack of adequate adolescent treatment and prevention resources.