Fresno County Supervisors denied a new liquor license in southeast Fresno on Tuesday after Luis Chavez, the area’s representative, said it would be one more to a neighborhood saturated with alcohol vendors.

Chavez thinks would-be liquor store owners are trying to skirt the city’s strict rules on selling alcohol by venturing into nearby county islands. He’s now considering authoring licensing rules similar to those he co-authored as a Fresno city councilmember.

“What I think people are doing is I think they’re trying to circumvent the process that the city of Fresno has in place,” Chavez told GV Wire. “Me being one of those co-sponsors, I knew the background and trying to set up liquor within county islands because they think the rules don’t apply and they could just set up willy-nilly.”

Chavez said he’s contemplating a rule that would apply to county islands within the city similar to the Responsible Neighborhood Market Act passed in 2020.

The star shows Sonora Market and red dots indicate nearby liquor stores. California Alcoholic Beverage Control allows five in that census tract. (County of Fresno)

Store Would Have Restrictions: Applicant

Supervisors at their Tuesday meeting unanimously denied an application from Sonora Market for a new beer and wine license at 2444 Ninth St., near Church Avenue.

The area already exceeds the liquor licenses allowed by California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. If the market’s request had been approved, it would have been the seventh license in an area allowing five. Thus, it fell on supervisors to rule on the request.

The application stated that the store would operate until 10 p.m., use strict age verification procedures, not allow on-site consumption, and install security cameras. Money from the license would allow the store to hire more people, the application stated.

“Sonora Market serves a residential community where many residents rely on nearby stores for their daily needs. Currently, there are limited legal and safe options for purchasing alcohol within walking distance,” the application states. “Granting this license will allow residents to access alcoholic beverages responsibly and conveniently without having to drive to other neighborhoods.”

Chavez Wants Liquor Store Rules Similar to City’s

Chavez said that residents told him during a neighborhood cleanup on Saturday that they don’t want more liquor stores.

The area near Calwa has high numbers of calls for police service. Sheriff’s deputies responded to 1,220 calls for service in 2024, 1,281 calls in 2023, and 769 so far in 2025.

“Adding liquor stores to that area is like adding fuel to a fire,” Chavez said. “I went through the data, the nature of those calls — domestic violence, assaults, burglary, hit-and-run, et cetera. Going through that process, we have to be able to have a process here where folks know that it’s not OK to locate in areas that have these high number of calls for service.”

In 2020, the Fresno City Council approved Chavez’s plan co-sponsored by councilmember Miguel Arias. One of the new rules forced prospective new liquor store owners to buy and retire other licenses before they were granted one.

Liquor licenses can cost tens of thousands to even $100,000. Changes to the rule in 2024 eased restrictions on grocery stores.

Chavez said the county needs it own rules. Three other applications in county islands are making their way through the process, he said.

Supervisors tend to defer to the decisions made by the supervisor of the area, but he wants the criteria codified. The rule would largely focus on county islands, he said.

“Whether it’s Fig Garden, Mayfair, Calwa, Malaga, or another part of the city that’s an unincorporated area, I do think we need a policy to guide that so that the expectation is clear from applicants that if your attempt and your interest is in circumventing the city’s policy on restricting this, it’s not going to be the wild west,” Chavez said.

Supervisors Respond to Chavez’ Plan

Supervisor Nathan Magsig said he’d be willing to look at what Chavez comes up with, but the county’s geography differs vastly from the city’s.

Having liquor store sales is a matter of convenience for some areas. “Some census tracts area as large as cities,” Magsig said.

Supervisor Garry Bredefeld said he’s been concerned about the saturation of liquor stores in certain parts of the city and that’s why he supported it when he was a councilmember.

He said it’s been a problem for a “long, long time.”

“I would be interested in what he’s looking at doing, what he’s working on, and consider what he’s trying to accomplish,” Bredefeld said.