Voice your opposition to allowing alcohol sales near Lively Middle School and Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders! Please add your name in support of the letter below and we will share it with City Council on your behalf.

Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,

We are writing to you today in strong opposition to two alcohol waiver requests: Torchy’s waiver request case number SPC-2024-0297AW and Wheatsville Food Co-op waiver request case number 2024-104003SP. Both waivers would allow for the sale of alcohol at businesses within 300 feet of Austin Independent School District (AISD) schools.

We urge the City Council to prioritize the safety, health, and development of our children by denying the waiver requests being made by Torchys and Wheatsville Food Co-op contrary to the health and safety of our children.

As current and former AISD Board of Trustees, are deeply invested in the success of our community’s students, and we believe granting these waivers creates potential risks for their education and well-being. The Austin city code distance requirement mandates a minimum 300-foot separation between businesses selling alcoholic beverages and schools. It helps create a buffer that safeguards our children and promotes a healthier community environment. The distance requirement helps minimize youth exposure to alcohol, aids in preventing underage drinking, prevents alcohol-related incidents near schools, creates physical barriers between alcohol outlets and campuses where our kids spend most of their time, and ensures our schools remain safe spaces focused on education and growth.

Middle school is when many kids try alcohol for the first time. We should be making it harder, not easier for them to gain access to their first drink. Kids that start drinking by age 15 are more likely to have problems with alcohol in adulthood. Kids that drink are also more likely to miss school, experience mental health issues, have unplanned and unwanted sexual experiences, and not perform as well in school. Our community should be protecting alcohol-free buffer zones near schools.

We recognize that when these policies were created, businesses within the 300-foot zone were grandfathered in and allowed to continue to sell alcohol. The philosophy being that once a business closes, the new business will not be allowed to have a license. The dying out of the businesses selling alcohol creates a more secure buffer zone. Any new business wanting to sell alcohol knows the rules when they open – too often, they bank on a waiver to increase their financial profits. However, this buffer zone model is not about financial profits, it is about the health and well-being of our children. As former AISD Trustees and active members of our Austin community, we have been asked by those associated with the Torchy’s effort to reconsider AISD’s position. We have not changed our minds and more importantly, the AISD administration and the current AISD Board of Trustees supports the opposition of these waivers to protect our children.

Though there are currently longstanding establishments that sell alcohol near these schools, that is not a good public policy reason to grant waivers to newer businesses now hoping to do the same. Grandfather clauses that allow previously existing establishments to continue selling alcohol within 300 feet of schools are meant to protect those businesses’ interests while still taking action to protect the safety, well-being, and development of our children. They are meant to result in fewer and fewer businesses selling alcohol near schools over time, not create a process by which our city grows the number of alcohol outlets within 300 feet of our schools through waivers.

We intend to stand on the side of good and effective policy choices that protect our youth. We urge you to do the same and vote no regarding Torchy’s waiver request case number SPC-2024-0297AW and Wheatsville Food Co-op waiver request case number 2024-104003SP.

Thank you for your time and attention on this important matter.

Sincerely,

LaTisha Anderson
Former Board Member

Lynn Boswell
Current Board Secretary

John Fitzpatrick
Former Board Member

Geronimo Rodriguez
Former Board President

Arati Singh
Current Board President

Doyle Valdez
Former Board President