Olde Towne resident Cathy Drzyzgula sent out an email this afternoon regarding the outcome of this morning’s Board of License Commissioners hearings for the 7-11, 7-Express and Center Market; I’ve included it below with her permission:

The alcohol license hearings were this morning in Rockville:

7-11

The 7-11 alcohol license was NOT RENEWED. The current license expires May 1. It is likely this decision will be appealed in court, but it is a big step forward. The owner denied under oath that the establishment had had any violations in the last five years (in fact they have had two since October 2005, and paid the fines for them), and insisted he was present in the store on a regular basis. We had a good turnout of neighbors, about 13, 9 of whom asked that the license be not renewed, rather than just restricted. The board had read the letters (the most they have received on any application apparently) and responded to our concerns and testimony.

It is possible for another application for a license at the 7-11 to be submitted in the next 12 months. There will be public hearings if one is submitted as a new license. If no license is issued within the 12 months the “grandfather” provision that allows the 7-11 to sell as close as it is to a church will expire, and no one could get a license for that location in the future.

7 Express and Center Market

The licenses for these stores were renewed with a restriction that they cannot sell alcohol before 9:30 a.m. (they didn’t before anyhow) and they cannot sell “singles” of less than 22 oz. There was some consideration of extending the limitation to 40 oz. to exclude malt liquor products, but there was difficulty with the fact some wine bottles contain 25 oz. The City told us other establishments that weren’t facing hearings today have also agreed to these limits, so this should make a big change in the Olde Towne area. The agreements could be modified next year if needed based on experience.

In a later exchange, Cathy also indicated that:

  • The City Government was well-represented: Mayor Sidney Katz, Councilman Stan Alster and Assistant City Managers Fred Felton and Tony Tomasello all were at the hearing. Mayor Katz spoke for the City in support of restrictions on the 7-11.
  • The City Police had two representatives at the hearing, Sgt. Scott Scarff and Sgt. Rudy Wagner. Sgt. Scarff spoke to the commission about the challenges they face in the Olde Towne neighborhood and the impact that the 7-11’s alcohol sales have, especially on the homeless alcoholic population, as well as on crime in general.

I’d like to congratulate the neighborhood residents and the City staff and elected officials who have worked so hard to address this growing problem in Olde Towne. It’s great to see that it is possible to make a difference.