The College Park City Council voted on June 10 to approve a letter of opposition regarding College Park Liquors’ request for a liquor license transfer.

College Park Liquors was forced to close its location in Campus Village Shoppes when the shopping center shut down in 2023 to make way for a new development, The Diamondback previously reported. The beer, wine and liquor license transfer would allow the establishment to reopen in a new location at 7207 Baltimore Ave. near Trader Joe’s.

The vote represents the council’s official position on the transfer proposal, which will be formally decided on later this month at a Board of License Commissioners hearing. The council opposes the transfer request because of its desire to make the area more family friendly and because a beer and wine license already exists in the adjacent area, the letter of opposition read.

“We started getting some concerns and comments from the community about the proposal, and based on that, we decided to send a letter of opposition,” College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir told The Diamondback.

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The letter of opposition, signed by city manager Kenneth Young, was sent to the Prince George’s County’s Board of License Commissioners, which will make the ultimate decision about the transfer. Young did not respond to The Diamondback’s request for comment in time for publication.

College Park Liquors did not respond to a request for comment.

The proposed location of the store would be close to the University of Maryland Child Development Center and Calvert Hills Playground and Athletic Field. City officials said this proximity seemed “inappropriate,” District 3 council member John Rigg told The Diamondback.

“The community would absolutely support a beer, wine and liquor store,” Rigg said. “If anything the community itself likes a good time and recognizes the value of that kind of accommodation. But I think that location is just wrong.”

The city requested College Park Liquors to find a different location to reopen, Kabir said.

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The Board of License Commissioners is set to hold a hearing for the transfer request on June 24, board director Terence Sheppard wrote in a statement to The Diamondback.

“Testimony will be heard at that meeting, and the Board will make a determination on how to proceed thereafter,” Sheppard wrote.

Kabir said he plans to testify in line with the city council at the June 24 hearing.

“We responded to the community,” Kabir said. “They have concerns and we have to listen
to them.”