CVS Corp, City of Santa Barbara agree to stringent liquor license restrictions

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Chronic complaints about loitering, crime and public drunkenness along the Milpas Street corridor prompted an eleventh hour modification to a hard liquor license approved years ago for the CVS store at the corner of Milpas Street and Gutierrez Street.

The issue went before the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Monday during a virtual hearing.

Days before, Natasha Todorovic, a Santa Barbara watchdog who filed suit in the matter, contacted the NewsChannel over concerns that the newly expanded liquor license, which was approved in 2017, would soon go into effect.

She asked the Santa Barbara Police Department, which is the legal liaison between the City and the ABC, to "pull its letter" and block the license.

Santa Barbara police spokesman Anthony Wagner confirmed that "in an effort to mitigate community concerns at this late juncture" the department reviewed the formerly approved license request and came up with new police conditions.

The new conditions include: Sales of alcoholic beverages be restricted to the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m.; beer sales restricted to a six-pack or greater -- no single servings; distilled spirits and wine sold must be 750ml. Other restrictions include locking the coolers where alcohol is chilled and stored between 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. and, the sale and storage of alcohol at CVS can't exceed 10% of the gross square footage.

NewsChannel reached out to both Wagner and Todorovic Tuesday.

Wagner labeled the newly expanded conditions as some of the "most stringent standards" placed on major national retailers in the city.

Todorovic said one key problem she sees with the agreement is that "the ABC can torpedo the settlement."

The issue is slated to go before the ABC for a final hearing, which could take months to schedule.