Led by Assemblyman Bill Starr, the body voted to protest the store's application to transfer ownership of the liquor license from the Circle S grocery store on North Birchwood Loop to the Wal-Mart Superstore.

“If we didn't come out against the license transfer now, it would have been approved by default,” Starr said. “It's not that there is a move to prevent Wal-Mart from acquiring a liquor license, it just needs to be done appropriately to allow the public an opportunity to have their say.”

Starr said there were major discrepancies in the application for transfer Wal-Mart submitted.

“The application contained some incorrect data and was lacking the required conditional-use permit to operate a liquor store,” Starr said. “The distance of Gruening Middle School is listed as being closer than the Lighthouse Baptist Church, which is right across the street, I don't believe that to be accurate.”

According to the application, the distance from Wal-Mart to Gruening is 1,584 feet, and the distance to the Baptist church is 3,168 feet.

“I'm not sure if they measured to Joy Lutheran Church or if they got the two measurements mixed up,” Starr said. “But before we vote on this at the Assembly, we need to make sure that the application we are considering is accurate. It appears that the application was made without Wal-Mart doing any diligence to get the appropriate data.”

State law requires that the public entrance of a liquor store be more than 200 feet from school grounds and church buildings in which regular services are conducted. In the case of Lighthouse Baptist Church and Gruening Middle School, both are located outside the required 200 feet.

Also at issue is the lack of an application for a conditional use permit, which is required before the sale of liquor is allowed.

“Traditionally the conditional-use application and the license transfer move forward simultaneously,” Starr said. “But Wal-Mart hasn't applied for a conditional-use permit.”

According to Mike Disarro, co-manager of the Eagle River Wal-Mart, the vote has not deterred the store's plans to pursue the transfer of ownership.

“The Assembly basically said they wouldn't approve the transfer because we didn't have the proper requests filed,” Disarro said. “Our plans are to complete the application requesting a conditional-use permit and to verify the measurements in question and resubmit the request for transfer of the license at the earliest possible time.”

The transfer of ownership request will be returned to the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board once corrected and then go back to the Assembly for review.

Reach the reporter at darrell.breese@alaskastar.com.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, April 3, 2008.