National City panel approves conditional alcohol permit for Highland Avenue market

National City’s Planning Commission approved Resolution No. 2026-07 on Monday, August 3, allowing Party Time Market to pursue a conditional-use permit for beer, wine and distilled-spirit sales at 2945 Highland Avenue, across Highland Avenue from Sweetwater High School.

The decision authorizes city-level off-site alcohol sales at the existing gas-station convenience store. It does not mean sales have started or that the state alcohol license has been issued. The applicant must complete the city’s acceptance requirements, obtain the required California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Type 21 license before selling distilled spirits, and clear the city’s review and appeal process.

Market plans to occupy two vacant suites

Party Time Market currently occupies approximately 1,602 square feet of an existing 4,775-square-foot commercial building. Under the proposal, Windy Cove Inc., represented by Adeeb Brikho, would expand the convenience store by 3,173 square feet into two attached vacant commercial suites and occupy the full building.

The city staff report says the planned expansion would add space for fresh-food preparation, beverages, a larger selection of convenience items and a secured alcohol-sales area. Alcohol sales would remain accessory to the convenience-store use rather than making the site a standalone liquor store.

The applicant proposed alcohol sales from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The conditions approved by the commission are narrower: sales may run from 8:30 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday.

School proximity and license concentration

Sweetwater High School is across Highland Avenue from the market. National City’s staff report says the city’s zoning rules do not impose a school-distance minimum on a convenience store selling alcohol as an accessory use. A business whose principal use was alcohol sales, such as a liquor store, would not be allowed at the site because it is within 660 feet of the school.

The property is in Census Tract 116.02. City staff reported three active off-sale alcohol licenses there, compared with two licenses recommended under ABC standards. The report therefore describes the tract as over-concentrated under those standards. That designation did not by itself make the city permit unlawful; the commission approved the application with conditions.

The National City Police Department’s ABC risk assessment assigned the proposal 12 points, placing it in the department’s low-risk category. Police nevertheless recommended securing and monitoring the alcohol displays because of the nearby high school and risks including theft, underage drinking and other alcohol-related crimes.

Conditions limit access and sales

Alcohol must be kept in a secured section of the store. Customers must present identification before staff activates the turnstile-style entry, and alcohol purchases must be completed at a register inside the secured area. The area must remain locked during hours when alcohol sales are prohibited.

Owners, managers and employees involved in alcohol sales must complete ABC-certified Responsible Beverage Service and Sales training. Required alcohol-related signs must be posted in English and Spanish.

The permit prohibits exterior alcohol advertising, including signs or interior displays visible from outside. It also requires lighting around outdoor areas, controls against litter and loitering, and a ban on alcohol consumption on the property, including the parking lot.

Other conditions prohibit single cans and bottles, restrict beer and malt-beverage container sizes, require wine containers to be at least 750 milliliters and prohibit wine above 15% alcohol by volume. Distilled spirits may not be sold in containers smaller than 750 milliliters.

The permit also requires quarterly records separating alcohol sales from other merchandise sales, excluding gasoline. Alcohol sales may not exceed the gross sales of other commodities during the same period.

What happens next

Before the conditional-use permit becomes effective, the applicant and property owner must sign and notarize an acceptance form. The form must be returned within 30 days of receipt or the permit automatically terminates. The applicant or owner must also record a notice stating that the permit conditions bind current and future property interests.

The resolution was transmitted to the City Council for review. The council may review the decision and set the matter for a public hearing. The resolution says it becomes effective and final following City Council review and 30 days after the Planning Commission’s decision unless a written appeal is filed with the City Clerk.

The permit becomes void if no Type 21 ABC license remains associated with the property, and it may become void if not exercised within one year of the resolution’s adoption unless extended under city procedures.

Sources

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