Are there too many liquor licenses in Fresno County? Supervisors reject new owner
Years after the city of Fresno set firmer restrictions on new liquor stores in the city, one county supervisor has noticed a trend: the applications have creeped into unincorporated areas just outside the city limits.
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously blocked an application for a new liquor license in Calwa, a historically underprivileged, unincorporated area adjacent to Fresno.
Supervisor Luis Chavez said he has seen recent applications for the licenses in an area already saturated with sellers of booze and beer. Not counting the one rejected on Tuesday, he said there are two more working their way through the application process.
One liquor license application is close to a school, Chavez said.
“There’s been an increase in trying to circumvent the policy that the city passed when I was there, and try to locate within the county islands but then also get access to city of Fresno residents,” he said. “I think it’s going to require us to work more closely with our city partners.”
The new applicant was looking to re-open a vacant store within about two minutes of 18 other businesses with liquor licenses, according to figures from the county.
The city of Fresno sent a letter opposing the newest applicant, noting the other sellers in the area.
The City Council in 2019 passed the Safe Neighborhood Market Ordinance, which put a cap on the number of licenses and required new applicants to acquire more than one license and retire some of them in overly saturated areas. Chavez was on the council at the time, as was Supervisor Garry Bredefeld.
The city’s letter also noted the potential new liquor store was proposed in an area zoned for residential development.
The Calwa policing district also draws significantly more calls for service than other neighborhoods patrolled by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Chavez said. Adding more alcohol sellers could only “add fuel to the fire,” he said.
The city of Fresno’s policies from decades ago allowed for liquor stores to open with little restriction and advocates for the south side of town have complained that they were hurt most by the practice. Calwa is located just outside southern Fresno.
The city of Fresno in 1993 grandfathered in existing liquor licenses, and until 2003 approved every liquor license, according to Fresno Bee archives. That resulted in higher rates of licenses in the southern parts of the city than are recommended by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
“I’m going to be a hawk on this, and scrutinize projects that come through,” Chavez said. “We’re not in the Wild West anymore, where you could just set up shop and sell liquor and cigarettes.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
