musicman Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 The Harris County Attorney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Why are liquor stores and bars near schools objectionable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 Why are liquor stores and bars near schools objectionable?they want to try and minimize interaction...liquor stores/bars and schools/churches etc.....but of course rules will be bent when "encouraged." this reminds me of enron field and annunciation...the way they measured the distance was so kluged that it was ludicrous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/6325846.htmlSuit claims Spec’s liquor store too close to schoolBy MIKE TOLSON Copyright 2009 HOUSTON CHRONICLEMarch 20, 2009, 9:11PMThe Harris County Attorney’s office Friday filed suit against alcohol retailer Spec’s in an attempt to shut down one of its Houston locations that the county claims is too close to a school.The Spec’s store at 6010 Washington violates a city ordinance by selling liquor, beer and wine within 1,000 feet of Memorial Elementary School, alleges the lawsuit, which also requests a temporary injunction to stop alcohol sales.“The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has asked them to give their certificate back,” said Marc Hill, an assistant county attorney. “It may have been something that slipped through the cracks. The TABC was very pleased for us to prosecute this. We’re taking it seriously and we’re enforcing it. We want to shut ’em down.”Exemption doesn’t applyThe suit claims that a Houston city official “erroneously certified that the requested license and permit did not violate Houston city ordinances.”Hill said whoever approved it may have mistakenly thought the store sold more food than alcohol, which would exempt it from the regulation. The permit was granted in February 2008.more here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/6325846.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Saw this on the news tonight, too. What I don't understand is that if the application freely admits that the school is nearby, why would Specs be under any obligation to voluntarily give up its license just because the city has changed its mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Google Map shows over .2 miles (1056 feet) between the two addresses. Google maps might be referencing the middle entrance to the school rather than the eastern edge of the school property, but it still seems like Harris County should use some common sense on this one. They're several blocks away, and they are at least close to being 1000 feet apart. The county approved it, but now they want Spec's to bear the expense of their mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liammclaren Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Why are liquor stores and bars near schools objectionable?A perfectly valid question that no one ever seems to answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insidehouston Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I think I support the 1000 feet rule. At the same time it seems if the county approves something they should not be able to go back on it. At the least they should reimburse the owner for any losses from the mistake (maybe advertising, and if they have to throw away the alcohol if they reverse the rule) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longhornguy Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Wow, talk about getting screwed over by the city. It's not like the school was just built either, so why did the city grant the liquor license in the first place? Sounds like Specs is going to have to spend a lot of money to keep that location open. Great place too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Note duplicate topics merged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 they want to try and minimize interaction...liquor stores/bars and schools/churches etc...Well, yeah, I know what they want to do...but why!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Well, yeah, I know what they want to do...but why!?I found this site that talks about keeping bars away from schoolyards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 All ursine jokes aside, I think there is a worry that liquor stores attract a less desirable type of clientele - drunks and violent criminals - and thus they might want to keep those customers away from kids. Same thing for strip clubs. I am sure also, that many of these laws come from a time when lawmakers were worried about "corrupting" children as well, although I think that line of reason has diminished quite a bit over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Maybe if Spec's really is 1,056 feet away from the school it can move all the liquor to one side of the store and the deli to the side near the school.I wonder if the urge to pass laws keeping bars and liquor stores away from schools comes from people who live suburban lifestyles.When I was growing up, there was a bar on every corner. My grandmother would send me down to the corner bar to play video games. It was no big deal. There was a bar across the street from the church and the school. Liquor stores were part of the neighborhood fabric. Not to the extent they are in Britain, but it was not unusual to stop by the bar to pick up milk on the way home.Now that we're two or three generations removed from urban living (and even more in Houston), it seems like people are trying to replicate the neat suburban boxes in an urban setting. In the suburbs you have one place where people live, and another place where they shop, and another place where they drink. It's like that model is being imposed on the urban core for some reason. I suspect in this case, it's because the rules are made on a county level and I doubt anyone making those rules lives in 77002. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I would be more worried about the bums hanging out at the corner gas station than the typical inner loop Spec's customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 looks like they're going to court tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidegate Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 We had a Bass brewery next door to our school. The mash used to stink when we walked up the driveway in the morning. Put me off Bass for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 We had a Bass brewery next door to our school. The mash used to stink when we walked up the driveway in the morning. Put me off Bass for life.I take it you aren't pining for a great glass of bass? The Dan Akroyd kind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Liquor is sold in grocery stores in Louisiana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I would be more worried about the bums hanging out at the corner gas station than the typical inner loop Spec's customer.Add to that, freeway underpasses, midtown, grocery stores, bus stops, bus stations, downtown parking lots near MMP during a game, downtown parking lots near bars/eateries at night, public parks, half price book stores, and high schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Liquor is sold in grocery stores in Louisiana.and at every gas station. Get your drink on!Can't they just move the school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 and at every gas station. Get your drink on!Can't they just move the school?Why can't they just tear down the school? I'm sure attendance rates don't justify the expense to keep it existing on a prime piece of land... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Add to that, freeway underpasses, midtown, grocery stores, bus stops, bus stations, downtown parking lots near MMP during a game, downtown parking lots near bars/eateries at night, public parks, half price book stores, and high schools.They are not thinking logical, and just trying to cover a mistake, that is now a huge media mess.I agree, they are other dangers worse than a liquor store.Busy streets and lack of sidewalks to add to that.Maybe if Spec's really is 1,056 feet away from the school it can move all the liquor to one side of the store and the deli to the side near the school.Can't they just relocate the entrance to the store, or is it the physical location of the liquor within it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstongirl Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Can't they just relocate the entrance to the store, or is it the physical location of the liquor within it?The law is based on distance from front door to front door, as it was explained to me "as the crow flies." When it comes down to it, businesses of all kind must obtain permits before opening. When that permitting process is complete, it means they have permission to operate at that location. Let's face it, the city and TABC both screwed up here, and the Spec's crew shouldn't be punished for it. Obviously someone in the permit department did not do their job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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