SANTA PAULA : Beer, Wine Sales Proposed Near Park

A service station proprietor plans to ask the Santa Paula Planning Commission tonight for permission to sell beer and wine across the street from Veterans Park, which was once plagued by public drunkenness.

Zahid M. Shah has applied to construct a mini-mart at the service station that he leases on 10th Street in downtown Santa Paula, across the street from a park and Santa Paula City Hall.

At an initial hearing March 23, City Planner Joan Kus said the city turned down a similar request from the station’s previous manager in 1987.

“We were concerned with pedestrian traffic on 10th Street and drinking in the park in 1987,” Kus said about the square-block plaza. Drinking was later outlawed in the park, reducing the reported problems, Kus said.

“Veterans Park is not the same as it was in 1987,” Kus said. “It is a much more attractive place today.”

Shah also has applied to expand the service station by adding a market topped by a clock tower. The planning department is recommending approval of the liquor permit.