Next Tuesday, Lemon Grove City Council will vote on a second reading of an ordinance which would require off-site liquor salespeople to get the same training as bar tenders and restaurant servers.
While it won’t amount to fewer establishments that sell alcohol, the city hopes it leads to a safer community.
Lemon Grove has what you might call a “high alcohol outlet density”. Current state guidelines allow for one liquor retailer or “off sale” business per 25-hundred people and one “on sale” establishment, a bar or restaurant per 2,000 people.
The study performed by the Institute for Public Strategies, a non-profit organization that works with cities to reduce health disparities, found Lemon Grove with a concentration 800% greater than state limits.
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In part of an emailed response to NBC 7 questions:
“Several of the alcohol licenses held were grandfathered into the City. Historically this has been an issue that is being addressed by the current administration in the City,” City Manager Lydia Romero explained.
According to the study, there are 21 liquor retailers, “off sale” businesses, where there are supposed to be just five. There are 25 “on sale” establishments where there are supposed to be just six.
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“The impacts on the City include, DUI crashes, vandalism due to intoxication, underage drinking, domestic violence, and sexual assault," Romero said.
If passed, the new ordinance would require all workers selling alcohol for on-site or off-site consumption to take the state’s Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs course, or LEAD.
The city manager says LEAD teaches retailers how to sell alcoholic beverages safely, responsibly, and legally, with emphasis on preventing sales to minors, sales to obviously intoxicated persons, and illicit drug activity at the licensed businesses.
“This will make the community safer by providing a uniform set of guidelines and training for off-sale and on-sale establishments,” Romero said.
The second reading of the ordinance is on the agenda for Lemon Grove’s Dec. 3 council meeting. If passed, it will take effect in 30 days.
The state made alcohol server training mandatory in July of 2022. Managers and servers in some 56,000 California establishments are required to take the class.
