Residents said no to new liquor store on busy Columbia road. Here’s what the city said
An effort by a local business owner to establish a new liquor store on Rosewood Drive has been denied.
Parminder Singh, owner of the Sunset Point gas station and convenience store at the corner of Rosewood Drive and Pickens Street in Columbia, had requested special permission from the city to establish a new liquor store at the site.
That request was denied Thursday by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals, after area residents came out in opposition of the store.
Residents raised concerns about the number of liquor stores already in the vicinity, and worried that another liquor store would make the area less desirable for would-be homeowners.
At least two liquor stores already operate within a mile of Sunset Point, including J&A Liquor and Rosewood Liquor and Wine. Green’s Beverages on Assembly Street is under 1.5 miles from the Sunset Point convenience store.
“We have a neighborhood with a lot of very nice, livable homes. Many of those are a block from this applicant’s location,” said Hollywood-Rose Hill resident William Lynn Shirley at the Thursday hearing. “We fight all the time with what goes in on Rosewood Drive that would discourage young people with kids from moving into our neighborhood.”
Singh was not present at the Thursday hearing, but in a letter previously submitted to the city he wrote that the liquor store would not cause any safety problems.
“I have not had any issues with safety in the last twenty years,” while running the Sunset Point convenience store, Singh stated in his application to the city.
“There are many business (sic) in the area as well as a bar and restaurant across the street,” Singh’s letter added. “A clean, new liquor store will match the district.”
Members of the Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals disagreed with Singh, voting 5-0 to deny his application.
