After a grueling 3 1/2 hour hearing today at the ABC district office the hearing officer has decided to take some time and he will issue a written ruling at some point in the future.  The record for this hearing is still open and comments can still be sent in to the ABC agent concerning this matter.  I say this because, while 20 or so of our Ocean Park neighbors showed up today to oppose the request to lift the restrictions currently on the ABC license for Don Julios, I’m not sure this will be enough.  Numbers matter to these folks, and nothing has more impact than the written word.  While a lot of you have sent me e-mails opposing lifting these restrictions, it seems that letters still matter for this sort of thing.  I strongly encourage anyone who has an objection to lifting these restrictions to write your opposing view in a letter and send it to:

                Virginia ABC District Office

                1103 South Military Highway

                Chesapeake, VA 23320

                Attn: Agent Judith Carmen

                You don’t have to be articulate, you just have to give your opinion as to why these restrictions to the Don Julios ABC license should not be lifted, such as reduced property values, disturbance to the good order an peace in the neighborhood, incompatibility with the residential flavor of the surrounding area, the long and lurid past of that property and the negative impact a late night drinking establishment could have on the neighborhood, or the potential increase in drunks waling on shore drive late at night, to name a few reasons.  .

                Some folks who weren’t around in the bad old days have questioned why the civic league and some of your neighbors are so strenuously opposed to lifting the restrictions on Don Julios’ ABC license.  The current business on that property, Don Julios, has been a good neighbor and hasn’t had any problems.  It’s family restaurant with a fairly quiet atmosphere.  Well, the reason for that is that the restrictions on their license were put in place in the mid 90′s after a long string of questionable and shady establishment.  There were three shootings on the premises (For those of you who want to question this fact you might want to talk to Diana Mclemore, who has lived in the house behind the property for 30 years).  The final straw was the opening of “Lovely Ladies”, an adult dance club.  The dance club opened without an ABC license because they were sure it would not be a problem.  The license was issued by the local ABC office, but the Ocean Park residents had had enough and banded together to put a stop to this.  The civic league coordinated the opposition, and 5 bus loads of OP residents went up to Richmond for the appeal to the issuance of the license.  The appeal was successful and there were restrictions placed on the license to ensure the establishment on that premise would be a family style restaurant instead of a Bar.  The restrictions on the ABC license at that property did not come easily, but they have been successful in ensuring that we have a business on that property that is compatible with the area.  Since the restrictions have been put in place there have been a number of different establishment that have made a go on that property.  The problem is they all wanted to be bars and not restaurants, that is until La Fiesta opened there in the late 90′s.  Since then, we have had good neighbors on that property and have not had any problems.  So why would we want that to change. 

                The only reason for the current owner to want to have the restrictions lifted are so she can change the nature of the business that she does.  Having live entertainment and being open until 2:00 a.m. are not things that a family style restaurant needs to do to stay in business, but they are critical for a “Bar”.  When the current owner bought the corporation 3 years ago, she was well aware of the restrictions, and aware of the type of business she was buying.  Now, in her desire to increase business, she wants to potentially revert things back to the way they used to be.  Some of you have said you do not understand the OPCL position opposing lifting these restrictions, well here it is.  Why would we want to change, when the reason the restrictions were put in place originally have done everything they were intended to do. 

                As a community we have to decide what we want to do.  As I said, some folks showed up today at the hearing, but I don’t think that will be enough.  As I said, numbers count, and I don’t think enough residents who are opposed to this have let the ABC know of their opposition.  If you don’t want to see another late night drinking establishment in our area, speak up and send a letter to the ABC district office at the above address.  If you stay silent I feel we may get something we don’t want.

Rick Mercadante

President

Ocean Park Civic League

mercadante@cox.net

 757-287-0771

Can you spare 10 minutes or less on Wednesday, August 25, any time between 9 a.m. and

11 a.m.? Public Utilities will be hosting an emergency exercise at Kempsville Middle School, 860 Churchill Drive (about seven miles from the Municipal Center). The exercise will simulate the mass distribution of water in the event the City’s water supply is ever compromised. What do you have to do? Simply drive through a designated area at Kempsville Middle to receive a free case of bottled water and a free reusable shopping bag containing a Virginia Hurricane Evacuation Guide, as well as other giveaway items. No need to sign up. Just show up between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on August 25.

Larry J. Livingston – K4LJL

Assistant to VBCERT Coordinator

VBCERT (Virginia Beach Community Emergency Response Team)

President – VBCERT Foundation

Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Club

FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni’s Association – FBICAAA

President of 3rd Precinct CAC – Virginia Beach Police Dept.

SkyWarn – NWS Trained Spotter No. VVAB283

4768 Hermitage Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23455

Tel:  757-460-3115, 800-992-3893 – CELL:  757-319-9553 – FAX:  866-726-7562

                Don Julios restaurant has made an application to the ABC to have the restrictions to their license removed.  The hearing is next Wednesday, August 18th at 3:00 p.m. at the Virginia ABC building, 1103 South Military Highway, Chesapeake, VA 23320.  This was discussed at our meeting last November, and the membership confirmed at the time that this is something we are still against.  The location that Don Julios is at has a long history, and the short of it is that the ABC license at that location was granted with some restrictions, specifically that they have to close by midnight and that they cannot have live entertainment.   Now since that license was issued the only thing that has changed is the ownership.  The location is still very close to private residences, which those restrictions were put in place to protect.  The reason that the restrictions were put in place is that Ocean Park residences showed up in force to the ABC hearing to let the them know that we didn’t want this unrestricted ABC licensed bar in our back yard (and for some it is literally in their back yards).  The only way we can ensure the restrictions to this license won’t be lifted is again to show up in force.  I will  be there, and I hope to see many of you there also.    

Rick Mercadante

President

Ocean Park Civic League 

mercadante@cox.net

 757-287-0771

City News Release Date:  Tuesday, July 13, 2010 6:30 p.m.
 
…“Thanks to The Trust for Public Land, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the citizens of Virginia Beach, we have a plan to save the vast majority of Pleasure House Point from development,” Mayor Sessoms said. “The strength of this partnership gives us the best chance yet to preserve this unique property. Our persistence is paying off!”…
 

To read the entire news release, click on this link Partnership to Acquire Pleasure House Point

You can also check for additional updates on this topic at the Pilotonline’s article Virginia Beach to hold news conference on Indigo Dunes tonight http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/virginia-beach-hold-news-conference-indigo-dunes-tonight?cid=ltst

www.sdcc.info may have additional updates on this topic.

These are thumbnails, just click on any picture to enlarge:

Ocean Park Civic League Treasurers Report – YTD thru June 2010

Ocean Park Civic League Treasurers Report – June 2010

Virginia Beach City Page July 2010

Ocean Park Civic League Treasurers Report – 2010 YTD

Ocean Park Civic League Treasurers Report – May