Forms Page

Protest Form

You do not have to use the ABC's standard form.  But if you write a protest "from scratch," please note that a "declaration under perjury"
must be present, or your protest will be rejected by the ABC.

A copy of your protest will be given to the applicant by the ABC.

ABC's fillable protest form to use to oppose the issuance of liquor licenses.

Official instructions for the form.

Provided below is a copy of ABC's form modified for editing on your home computer, and another to which DHLLN's standard protest grounds have been added.

To download one of these forms to your computer:

1. Set your display to "full screen;"
2. highlight the whole form or the portion you want;
3. copy it into a blank word processor document;
4. you may need to re-set the margins and the font - see note below.

You should then be able to edit it (if you wish) and print it.

More details about filling-out and filing protest forms, are below.

 

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ABC PROTEST FORM - BLANK

The form below is the online fillable form of 07/08 (linked above) but modified for editing on your home computer.

Mail it to:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
3927 Lennane, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834                                      Fax (916) 419-2599

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Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control    State of California
PROTEST AGAINST ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE APPLICATION
•Please refer to Form ABC-510, Instructions for Protesting an Alcoholic Beverage License Application, before
completing and submitting your protest. The ABC-51 0 can be found at www.abc.ca.gov.
•Please print legibly or type. Incomplete and/or illegible information will cause the protest to be rejected.
•You will be notified by letter regarding a hearing on your protest. You will need to attend the hearing to testify and/or present evidence to support your protest.
•A copy of your valid protest, including your name and address, will be provided to the applicant as a public record and a right of discovery for a protest hearing.

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I hereby protest the issuance of a license under the Alcoholic Beverage Control
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Act to (name of applicant) ______________________________ for premises at
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(exact address of proposed premises) __________________________,
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Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 on the grounds that:
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(You may attach additional sheets or expand this area.)
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I, (name of protestant, printed) _________________________________, declare under penalty of perjury:
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(1) That I am the protestant herein; (2) That I have read the above protest and know the contents thereof; and (3) That the same is true of my own knowledge except as to those matters which are therein stated on information and belief, and as to those matters I believe to be true.
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(signature of protestant) _____________________________________
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Executed on (date) _______________ at (city) ____________________California.
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(telephone number - optional) _______________________
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(address of protestant) _____________________________________________
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ABC-510 (07/08)
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PROTEST FORM WITH DHLLN'S STANDARD GROUNDS

To download the form below onto your computer:

1. Set your display to"full screen;"
2. highlight the whole form or the portion you want;
3. copy it into a blank word processor document;
4. if your word processor version of it has a lot of short broken-up lines of text, or won't fit onto two 8-1/2 x 11 pages, try reducing all four margins to .5 inches, reducing the type size to 10 points, and using a compact font such as CG Times or Times New Roman.

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To:
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
3927 Lennane, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834                                Fax (916) 419-2599
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PROTEST AGAINST ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE APPLICATION
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I hereby protest the issuance of a license under the Alcoholic Beverage Control
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Act to (name of applicant)_______________________________, dba ___________________________________for premises at
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(exact street address of proposed premises)______________________________________________,
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Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 on the grounds that:
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1. A license for these premises will result in or add to an over-concentration of licenses (approximately 4 times the countywide average). The "rationale" typically offered by the applicant and the ABC investigator ("it's a touristy area") for allowing this undue concentration is irrational in that it is not based upon objective criteria of any kind, and places no cap on the number of licensed premised that could be allowed in the area. Further, the license and business hours requested, or the absence in the City permit of any specification of business hours, and any provision to allow live entertainment, represent a much more intense use of the site than the previous use, and neighboring uses.
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2. The premises, and/or its parking facilities, are located in or adjacent to a residential area, and/or, the premises have insufficient parking on-site and the pedestrian access route to and from the premises from the premises' parking passes through a residential neighborhood. Operation of the premises under the requested license, particularly if this request includes a later closing time than is presently allowed at the premises or at other licensed premises nearby, or a change from beer and wine to full liquor, will cause residents to be affected by increased crime, late night noise and disturbances, and competition for parking.
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3. The applicant cannot establish, per Rule 61.4, that licensing of the premises will not interfere with the quiet enjoyment of local residences. Issuance to these premises of a conditional license, where the public is to be protected by the application of those conditions (and existing State laws) because "issuance of an unrestricted license would be contrary to the public welfare and morals," is a sham and a fraud upon the public, as in recent history the Department has not enforced, in the census tract of this license, the most important of the conditions imposed nor has it enforced State laws regarding underage purchases or drinking, and due to State budget restrictions, is even less likely to do so in the future.
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4. Operation of the premises under the requested license will tend to create or continue law enforcement problems and also will add to the existing law enforcement problems and to the existing concentration of assaultive violence, robbery, and forcible rape. (See "The Risk of Assaultive Violence and Alcohol Availability in Los Angeles County," Richard A. Scribner, et al., American Journal of Public Health, March 1995, http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/85/3/335 , and see Hermosa Beach Police Department statistics, assault, at http://www.hbneighborhood.org/My%20Web/1%20HB%20CityNews%202006%2014.htm .)
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5. The premises are located within the immediate vicinity of religious, school, or youth facilities and normal operation of the premises will interfere with their functions, the factors being: (a) unruly activity, public drinking, and loitering on sidewalks and streets; (b) frequent closure of streets for alcohol-related or alcohol-sponsored outdoor events; (c) competition for parking (reduction of availability and increase of price).
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6. Licensing of the premises will add to, re-establish, or maintain, public nuisance in the area; specifically, it will be injurious to the health of, offensive to the senses of, and an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by an entire neighborhood, including but not limited to: (a) those residences within hearing distance of the noise from the premises, its parking facilities, and its delivery and refuse collection vehicles; (b) those residents who will be exposed to cooking and refuse bin odors; (c) those residents living next to, sometimes with their bedrooms directly adjacent to, the pedestrian routes leading from the premises, said routes being places where assaults, robberies, and drunken acts of public urination or defecation and late-night loud and boisterous behavior can reliably be predicted. Licensing of the premises will also adversely affect a considerable number of other persons, who, per an independently conducted survey, noted they were not comfortable downtown (Hermosa Beach R/UDAT Study, American Institute of Architects, Cabrillo Chapter, October 1992, page 13, http://www.hermosabch.org/departments/pier/docs/RUDAT.pdf )
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7. The premises are located within the immediate vicinity of, and on the access route to, public recreational facilities, and normal operation of the premises will interfere with the functions of the recreational facilities, the factors being:
(a) unruly and dangerous activity on sidewalks and streets near the premises, said sidewalks and streets being a main access route to the recreational facilities, affects pedestrian access to the recreational facilities by persons less able to defend themselves; (b) the unruly and dangerous activity on sidewalks and streets near the premises, while well known to "locals," presents a hidden danger to visitors who may unwittingly use said streets and sidewalks to access the recreational facilities; (c) frequent closure of streets for adult entertainment and alcohol-related events results in the loss of all parking for the recreational facilities, or a great increase in the cost or inconvenience of that parking, which restricts vehicular access to said recreational facilities.
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8. If applicant is requesting a Type 23 license which includes beer and wine off-sale privileges, so-licensing of these premises violates the moratorium on the issuance of new beer and wine off-sale licenses.
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9. Based upon the Department's past actions, Protestant expects that the Conditional License the Department will offer to Applicant will not contain all of the following conditions, many of which are commonly found on restaurant licenses in urban areas, and which are necessary to ensure that the premises remain a restaurant and not a night club or bar.
a. The petitioner shall not operate a sports bar at the premises.
b. The premises shall be maintained as a bona fide restaurant and shall provide a menu containing an assortment of foods normally offered in restaurants; that full menu of foods shall be available, at regular prices, during all hours that alcohol is sold, served, or consumed.
c.  The sale of liquor shall be incidental to the sale and consumption of food and otherwise the sale of liquor alone is prohibited.
d.  The sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises is strictly prohibited.
e.  The quarterly gross sales of alcoholic beverages shall not exceed 50% of the gross sales of food (excluding alcoholic beverages) during the same period.
f.  No reduced price alcoholic beverage promotions shall be allowed, examples being, but not limited to, "happy hours," "all you can drink" for a set amount, "two drinks for the price of one," and alcoholic beverages included as part of the price of a meal.
g. Alcoholic beverages shall be sold only by the single drink containing not more than 12 fl. oz. of beer, or 6 fl. oz. of wine, or 1 fl.oz. of distilled spirits.  There shall be no sale of alcoholic beverages in multi-drink, multi-person or oversized portions or containers, examples being, but not limited to, by the "bucket," pitcher or "yard," or wine sold by the bottle or carafe.
h. All employees of the premises shall undergo the ABC L.E.A.D. training program as a condition of employment.
i.  The total diagonal measurement of all televisions in the public area of the premises shall not exceed 52 inches.
j.  Petitioner shall not require an admission charge or a cover charge, nor shall there be a requirement to purchase a minimum number of drinks.
k. There shall be no dancing or live entertainment.
l. On at least four (4) days of each calendar week, premises shall be open during normal lunch hours and shall provide a menu containing an assortment of foods normally offered for lunch, and on at least two (2) days of each calendar week, premises shall be open during normal breakfast hours and shall provide a menu containing an assortment of foods normally offered for breakfast.
m.  The exterior of the premises shall be maintained free of graffiti at all times.
n.  There shall be no exterior advertising of any kind or type, including advertising directed to the exterior from within, promoting or indicating the availability of alcoholic beverages.  Interior displays of alcoholic beverages of signs which are clearly visible to the exterior shall constitute a violation of this condition.
o.  On the patio, the petitioner shall only serve alcoholic beverages to patrons who are seated at a dining table.
p.  The boundaries of the patio shall be clearly defined and designated by physical barriers to separate the patio from the public sidewalk and adjacent private property which is not under the exclusive control of licensee.  These barriers and boundaries, as approved and designated on ABC 257, shall not be changed without prior approval of the Department.
q.  On the patio, sales, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages, and any entertainment provided, shall cease at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
r.  The licensee or an employee of the licensee shall be present in the patio at all times that alcoholic beverages are being served or consumed.

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10. Applicant premises are located in a jurisdiction where there has been little enforcement, either by local police or the ABC, of the ban on underage drinking. During the same period, crime has occurred which could have been prevented had that ban been enforced. Applicant premises will admit persons under 21.
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I, (name of protestant, printed)___________________________________, declare under penalty of perjury:
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(1) That I am the protestant herein; (2) That I have read the above protest and know the contents thereof; and (3) That the same is true of my own knowledge except as to those matters which are therein stated on information and belief, and as to those matters I believe to be true.
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(signature of protestant)_____________________________________
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Executed on (date)_______________________ at (city)______________________ California.
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(telephone number - optional)_______________________
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(address of protestant)________________________________________________
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ABC-510 (1/02) HB Grounds (9/09)
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