The San Jose City Council will consider amending its 19-year-old ordinance banning the sale of alcohol at gas stations at its Feb. 24 city council meeting. Prior to that decision, however, the community is invited to attend a public hearing on Feb. 17 at 1:30 p.m. to express its comments or concerns and hear more about the proposed ordinance.

Despite the clamor among local business proprietors to amend the ordinance, Mothers Against Drunk Driving member Jackie Masso, 73, sees no reason for a change.

State law does not prohibit alcohol sales at gas stations, but in San Jose the alcohol sales ban pre-existed state law and was grandfathered in.

"There are so many places one can find alcohol, such as the grocery store or the drug store," she said. "A gas station just isn't the proper place."

She said right before the ordinance was passed, she was at a gas station, where she watched a young man buy and quickly consume three cans of beer while filling his car with gas. In a fume of frustration, she watched him drive away. She was shocked by the man's behavior and was pleased when the ordinance was passed.

Masso, a Willow Glen resident, also knows firsthand what it's like to feel the effects of the actions of a drunken driver, because she was severely injured after being hit by a car driven by one in 1982. After the accident, the driver, in his 20s, admitted to drinking heavily with his friends before getting behind the wheel. The accident caused Masso to be confined to a hospital bed for more than seven months. She says that among the results of the many injuries she suffered, she lost much of her memory, including the ability to play the piano.

"I would hate to see us go backwards by allowing alcohol to be sold at gas stations," she said. "Why not make money at the stations by putting in a Starbucks instead?"

The idea to banish the ban was ignited at the Sept. 16 San Jose City Council meeting. Council members listened to community concerns, which included those of local business owners who said the ban was a double standard. They were upset because gas stations cannot sell alcohol but businesses such as wholesale retailer Costco can. Costco is permitted to sell both gas and liquor because it subdivided its locations into two parcels, allowing the business to work around the city's ordinance; one parcel operates only as a wholesale retailer, while the other parcel, which is completely separate, functions as a gas service station.

Proponents of the proposed ordinance claim that not allowing gas stations to sell alcohol gives an unfair competitive edge to stores like Costco, with city and state rules already restricting the hours, locations and number of businesses in an area that can sell alcohol. Also, owners like Robinson Oil Corporation CEO Thomas Robinson say that alcohol sales in local gas stations would increase the city's sales tax revenue.

The city council was divided on the issue of lifting the ban at the Sept. 16 session, voting 6-4 to lift the ban. But the council subsequently directed the city attorney and administration to draft an ordinance removing the prohibition under certain circumstances that mainly relate to the size of the gas station's land parcel.

For stations on sites between less than an acre to one acre in size, the owner can reconfigure his location to provide either gas and alcohol, gas and mini-mart services, gas and minor vehicle repairs or gas and a restaurant. These parameters would affect 172 of the 187 gas service stations in San Jose or 92 percent of the stations.

Robinson, who owns and operates 28 Rotten Robbie gas stations and convenience stores, with one on Lincoln Avenue, sent a letter in April to the city's Driving a Strong Economy Committee, asking that the city reevaluate the ordinance, since it appeared to favor one retailer over another.

Yet, even if a new ordinance is approved by the city council, some of his stations, like the one on Lincoln Avenue, would not be able to sell alcohol due to its close proximity to a school.

For more information, including a detailed description of the proposed ordinance, visit http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/01_27_04 docs/01_27_04_4.4.htm.