When shoppers enter the newly built CityTarget for the store’s opening later this month, wallets in hand, they may find one thing missing ““ the liquor aisle.
In April, the zoning administration of Los Angeles denied an alcohol license to Target, which will open on Weyburn Avenue on July 29. Store representatives plan to appeal the decision in a court hearing scheduled for next week.
In a public hearing that was held earlier this year, Target officials claimed alcohol sales account for a very small part of their profits and it is only sold in almost every Target as a convenience for customers.
But their arguments did not go far in the Westwood community.
Members of the Westwood Neighborhood Council argued against any food items, including alcohol, being sold in the store because there are several grocery stores in very close proximity, including a Ralphs grocery store within the same building, said Steve Sann, chair of the council.
Another reason the council opposed the license is that it is not a traditional store, but rather a 93,000 square-foot CityTarget that is slightly smaller than a traditional Target to fit into an urban area, Sann said.
With limited space, the council wants the store to focus on providing products that Westwood is lacking, such as furniture, clothes and dorm supplies, he added.
There is also a state guideline suggesting five alcohol licenses for off-site consumption in Westwood. There are currently five such licenses in use, according to city records.
The guideline, however, is not binding, said Christopher Koontz, planning deputy for the City of Los Angeles.
Koontz said that while Westwood has exceeded the state’s recommended number of alcohol licenses for the area, that does not mean Target should be denied an alcohol license.
Meg Veitch, a fourth-year geology student, said while she would appreciate any cheaper prices or a greater variety of alcohol at the CityTarget, she agrees with the council’s claim that an extra grocery store is unnecessary in Westwood.
“It’s like putting a bar across the street from another bar,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Koontz said he doesn’t expect the Los Angeles Planning Commission to grant Target’s appeal and allow the store to sell alcohol because he hasn’t noticed much change in Target’s argument.
Regardless of how the current alcohol license limbo plays out, Koontz said he thinks Target still has a lot of business to do in Westwood.
“I think that life will go on, and they’ll be very successful without (the alcohol license),” he said.
Contributing reports from Erin Donnelly, Bruin senior staff.