Salinas considers changes to alcohol policies

The Alvarado Street Brewery in Salinas recently opened and is quenching the local thirst for craft beer.

“We opened this to expand the amount of beers that we could serve at our restaurant in Monterey and also brew enough to sell it to people that were interested in carrying it on draft,” said Alvarado Street Brewery owner J.C. Hill.

But getting the license to manufacture and have a tasting room off Harkins Road, an industrial part of Salinas, was quite the challenge.

“Took a long time,” said Hill. “We had to get a special conditional use permit. It was very difficult.”

Now plans are underway to make the process easier to grow the craft brewery and wine industry in town.

“We’ve had several distilleries, breweries and wineries showing interest in setting up in our industrial zones,” said Salinas City Councilor Steve McShane.

The Salinas Planning Commission is meeting to discuss adjusting how the city goes about issuing alcohol licenses and what recommendations can be made.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” said John “Tony” Villegas, Salinas Planning Commissioner. “We want to make sure it’s appropriate and that we’re doing the right thing as far as letting these business inside of certain areas of Salinas.”

City leaders said language with zoning is the major hang up in the permitting process.

“The way the zoning laws are, it’s not clearly defined as far as what those type of businesses can come in and do,” said Villegas.

Among other concerns is the number of licenses that would be issued, with too much liquor and beer flowing. City leaders believe the new business will be a positive.

“We’ve got a good job base,” said McShane. “We’ve got great distribution channels.”

Along with great potential to bring in more tourist dollars.

“And that would be more money into the city coffers to be able to do a lot of the things as far as the city goes to make the city safe again,” said Villegas.