Deny Liquor License Bid, State Urged : Pacoima: A group of activists, citing a high drunk-driving rate, wants a store’s application sent back to L.A. city officials.

Pacoima community activists trying to block a supermarket from obtaining a liquor license have asked state officials to reject the license application and send the case back to Los Angeles city officials instead.

Members of the Pacoima Coordinating Council sent a letter last week to Jay Stroh, director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission, with an unusual request: They urged Stroh to send the liquor license application for the Food For Less market at 9635 Laurel Canyon Blvd. back to the city Office of Zoning Administration. The latter office issued a conditional-use permit to the store last July.

Once a business obtains a city permit, a liquor license application moves on to the state level and becomes more difficult to block.

The activists say Food For Less will sell liquor at discount prices like its sister store in Pacoima, Viva, adding to liquor-related problems in an area with one of the city’s highest drunk driving rates.

“We are taking a stand against any new liquor licenses,” said Marianne Hill, president of the coordinating council. “It is a radical position to take with a supermarket. . . . But the feeling was it would be hypocritical to say no to small liquor stores and not to big chains.”

It is unlikely that state officials will comply with the Pacoima activists’ request because opponents will get a chance to contest the application in a July 30 hearing before an administrative law judge in Los Angeles, said Manuel Espinoza, chief deputy director of the ABC.

The activists also say the city should reconsider the case because the office of Councilman Ernani Bernardi did not notify them of last year’s city hearing. Some allege that Bernardi’s office showed favoritism toward QFI, the parent company of Food For Less, saying that the councilman’s staff usually notifies local groups as a courtesy when businesses seek permits to sell liquor.

“How did the system break down on Food For Less?” said Fred Taylor, leader of a homeowners group. “They support the corporate structure and crack down on the smaller outlets.”

Bernardi said through a spokesman Monday that he would not comment on any statements by Taylor, a sometime critic. Officials in Bernardi’s office said they did not know whether neighborhood groups were notified of the city hearing last July, but said the councilman has been at the forefront of efforts to curtail the proliferation of liquor sales. They said one reason local groups may not have been notified is because the supermarket is actually in Arleta, on the border of Pacoima.

The city automatically notifies businesses within 500 feet of the applicant when a hearing is set, officials said.

ABC spokesman Jim Smith said state officials have already imposed a list of 12 conditions on the liquor license if it is granted, regulating hours of operation and requiring Food For Less to provide a security guard and keep the property free of graffiti and loiterers.