LANSING, Mich — Lansing City Council unanimously voted to object to a liquor license transfer request for a location on East Kalamazoo Street, citing concerns about proximity to a school and oversaturation of alcohol retailers in the area.
"The owner of liquor license had the license at a Rite Aid store in Mason, Michigan, and this application was to transfer that license from Mason to Lansing," said Councilwoman Trini Pehlivanoglu.
The council's objection stems from the proposed location's proximity to a school, community organizations, and several existing liquor stores.
"The new Family Dollar, which is now a liquor store, Potter Walsh liquor store, QD party store and they are all within a 5 minute walk. If that's not enough to feed your thirst for hard liquor, there's beer and wine places but the list will be too long," said council President Ryan Kost.
Pehlivanoglu emphasized concerns about neighborhood quality of life as a key factor in the decision.
"When you think about the quality of life in those areas, I do not in my perspective, I do not want to add another liquor store in those already saturated areas," she said.
The council's decision has generated mixed reactions from local residents.
Jill Dombrowski supported the council's vote against the transfer.
"It's not an area where we want to see growth is just any response," Dombrowski said.
However, not all neighbors agree with the council's stance. Some residents, like Rocks Party Store manager Colleen Williams, see benefits to having multiple liquor retailers in close proximity.
"It's nice to have multiple liquors stores in smaller areas, where people could walk to, if need be," Williams said.
While the council has made its position clear, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission will make the final determination on the license transfer. The commission has not yet announced when they will reach a decision.
"The city of Lansing, there's really nothing much more for us to do there... we stated our opinion," Pehlivanoglu said.
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