Agoura Hills Dilutes Liquor Sales Ban

Although the original impetus for the ban was based on inaccurate information, the City of Agoura Hills is still seeking to outlaw the sale of packaged beer, liquor and wine by all new businesses near the Ventura Freeway.

The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to draft a proposed ordinance that would prohibit take-out liquor sales by new businesses within 660 feet of the freeway, which bisects the city for five miles.

But in a move that would substantially dilute the measure’s effect, the council voted to permit businesses that presently sell liquor to continue to do so. Hotels and restaurants near the freeway would still be able to sell drinks to customers under the measure, which must be subject to public hearing.

Prompted by Collision

City Councilman Jack Koenig suggested the ban in January after being told that a drunk driver charged with killing four persons in a head-on crash just east of Agoura Hills had purchased alcohol at an Agoura Hills gas station just before the crash.

Koenig said Tuesday that he later learned that the driver, who has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder, did not purchase beer in the city.

Other options considered by city officials included banning the concurrent sale of alcohol and gasoline. But Paul Williams, director of Community Planning and Development, said city officials believe that measure would be vulnerable to legal challenges.