TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Kelvin Parker, Community Development Director
DATE:January 13, 2026
SUBJECT: Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity (LPCN 2025-70001) for 2150 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve and authorize the Community Development Director to send a Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity (LPCN) to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) for the proposed Erewhon Natural Foods Market to be located at 2150 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard.
2. Find that this action is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. The indirect cost of staff time to prepare and process this LPCN is fully offset by the filing fee paid by the applicant.
BACKGROUND:
This LPCN request is associated with an application for an ABC license at 2150 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, as shown on the attached vicinity map and aerial photo (Attachment Nos. 1 and 2). The proposed business, Erewhon Natural Foods Market, intends to offer the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for off-site consumption. The request to the ABC is for a Type 21 License (Off-Sale General).
Food service is not required, and minors are permitted on the premises, but not permitted to consume alcoholic beverages.
Since the ABC has reported that the location of the proposed alcohol license is “over-concentrated” with active licenses as established by State standards, the applicant is required to obtain a LPCN from the local jurisdiction, prior to the issuance of a license by the ABC.
2150 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. (LPCN 2025-70001)
January 13, 2026
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Section 23958, ABC will deny a license if approval of the license “would result in or add to an undue concentration of licenses,” unless City Council determines that “public convenience or necessity would be served by the issuance” of the license.
Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Section 23958.4, an “undue concentration” of licenses occurs if either:
a) “located in a crime reporting district that has a 20 percent greater number of reported crimes...than the average number of reported crimes as determined from all crime reporting districts,” or
b) the ratio of licenses to population in the applicable census tract exceeds the ratio of licenses to population in the county.
Based on the ratio between the number of licenses to the number of persons in a census tract, the Erewhon Natural Foods Market location is in an area of “undue concentration,” with current licenses, both on-sale and off-sale. Most commercial zones within the City are currently in areas of “undue concentration” with issued licenses. Additional licenses in these areas require the issuance of an LPCN.
In this case, the applicant is seeking an ABC Type 21 License (Off-Sale General), which allows the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for off-site consumption. In comparison, a Type 20 License (Off-Sale Beer & Wine) allows only the sale of beer and wine for off-site consumption. No food service is required and minors are allowed on the premises for both license types.
There are Type 20 and 21 Licenses within a half mile of the proposed business location. The following is a list of other establishments with off-sale ABC licenses located within a half mile (Attachment #3) of the proposed business location:
Business Name Address Business Type
Winners Pizza (Type 20) 1805 E Thousand Oaks Blvd Restaurant 7-Eleven (Type 20) 1773 E Thousand Oaks Blvd Convenience Store Thousand Oaks Liquor (Type 21) 2809 E Thousand Oaks Blvd Convenience Store West Tasting Room (Type 20) 1867 E Thousand Oaks Blvd Wine Tasting The Thousand Oaks Police Department has reviewed the application in conjunction with crime analysis of the area. The location of the proposed business is in a police reporting district that does not have a 20 percent or greater number of reported crimes as compared to other reporting districts within the City. Further, the specific address within The Lakes at Thousand Oaks, does not have reported 2150 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. (LPCN 2025-70001)
January 13, 2026
incidents or requests that are considered excessive. Therefore, the Thousand Oaks Police Department does not object to the issuance of the proposed license (Attachment #4).
Based on the review and analysis of information associated with this request, approval of the Erewhon Natural Foods LPCN and authorization for the Community Development Director to send a LPCN to the ABC is recommended.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goal:
B. Provide municipal government leadership which is open and responsive to residents, and is characterized by ethical behavior, stability, promoting public trust, transparency, confidence in the future, and cooperative interaction among civic leaders, residents, business representatives, and staff, while recognizing and respecting legitimate differences of opinion on critical issues facing the City.
PREPARED BY: Nicole Katz, Assistant Planner
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – Vicinity Map
Attachment #2 – Aerial Photo
Attachment #3 – Location Map with nearby off-sale locations Attachment #4 – Thousand Oaks Police Department Memorandum cdd:465-90/H:COMMON/City Council/CC Agenda Items/2026/01132026\Erewhon LPCN/LPCN-2025-70001 Staff Report.pdf/pz (FILE ID: LPCN 2025-70001)