Being a good neighbor isn't always an easy task.
Consider, for example, the challenge facing Chronic Tacos, at 3870 Ocean Blvd., near the Belmont Shore area.
It's a quiet spot, looking like a beach hut with a small patio, where customers can enjoy burritos and -- of course -- tacos. Brent Novotchin, general manger, said he'd like to enhance its menu with wine and beer selections, items a few customers would enjoy.
The Belmont Shore Residents Association, however, wants to block Chronic Tacos' permit push.
The issue is on the City Council's Aug. 5 agenda, after a number of residents raised concerns over an original Alcoholic Beverage Control license.
According to association president Mike Ruehle, ABC only allows five licenses in Chronic Tacos' Census Tract.
"However, it is already oversaturated with 10 on-sale licenses," he added. "Chronic Tacos' license would be 11."
Ruehle asserted that adjacent Belmont Shore Census Tracts are "extremely oversaturated" with 47 liquor licenses.
The association president also said there are 23 residences within 100 feet of Chronic Tacos -- stand with no enclosed seating.
"All seating is in an open air, covered patio," he noted. "Their conditions allow them to be open until midnight. Thus the noise impact on neighboring residents of drinking patrons would be serious."
Novotchin said ABC officials had no problem with the open-air, covered patio, adding that they raised no concerns about a lack of a gate to the patio.
The adjacent housing is mainly condominiums, and the general manager said he was startled by the "package" of protests from a small group, since he had never been approached.
"Our intentions are never to create a cantina," Novotchin said Wednesday.
The permit will allow a few customers to enjoy a drink with their meals. The city's Planning Department, he disclosed, exempted Chronic Tacos from a need for a conditional use permit to obtain a beer and wine license since it doesn't plan to sell much beer and wine, Novotchin said.
"We don't want people hanging out and drinking all day," he said, adding that most people tend to go to bars if they intend to do a lot of drinking.
