Whiskey's for drinking, Mark Twain observed, and water's for fightin' over - but not when it comes to a big controversy brewing in the small town of Los Alamos.

Some of that rural community's 1,400 residents, and its Catholic church, are battling businessman Gerald Gormley's plans to reopen Ghostriders Tavern on Bell Street. Its new location is down the block from where the bar, which also served burgers and pizza, operated for decades before losing its lease in fall 2005.

Gormley said he has spent the past 18 months and about $1.1 million buying and renovating a former hardware store at the corner of Bell and Helena streets. Having secured all the necessary county permits, he was aiming for a May 1 reopening - but that looks unlikely now.

He still needs approval first from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to transfer his liquor license from the former Ghostriders location to the new site, about 50 yards away. His application to do so was denied by the ABC staff, however, because the bar would be less than 100 feet from three residences and close to several others, threatening the “quiet enjoyment” of their occupants.

“They have no rationale” for refusing a liquor license at the new location, Gormley, 57, a retired Delco aerospace engineer defiantly contended Friday. “They have come to conclusions based on no facts.”

He will challenge the denial at a public hearing before an administrative law judge set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in a Public Health Department auditorium at 300 N. San Antonio Road near Goleta. If the judge upholds the license denial, Gormley vowed he will appeal to a three-person ABC board and then in court, if necessary.

ABC regulations generally prohibit issuing a new liquor license for any business within 100 feet of residences, unless there's proof it won't interfere with the neighbors' peace and quiet, said Chris Albrecht, the agency's district administrator.

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When Ghostriders was open, “it catered to motorcycle enthusiasts,” he added, so noise from the new bar's patrons and their two-wheeled cycles would likely affect nearby homes. “The potential interference of the quiet enjoyment of these residences is the primary reason for denial” of the liquor license, Albrecht said.

Ghostriders “is moving to within five feet of one residence,” he noted - at 230 Helena, where Jorge and Jaime Vidal live with their two young sons.

Gormley insisted any noise will be blocked by a brick-and-mortar wall he erected between the two properties that is 7 feet high and filled with sound-absorbing material.

“The noise, the traffic and - oh, God! - the motorcycles!” Jaime Vidal, 28, exclaimed Thursday when asked her thoughts about having a bar on the other side of the wall from her small, aged home.

Ghostriders' customers “will be out in the (bar's) patio yelling, fighting and screaming,” she predicted.

Its restroom wall will be only feet away from her sons' bedroom window.

Ghostriders was at its former location most of the eight years the Vidals have lived on Helena, but far enough away to be tolerable.

“I'd say 80 percent of its clientele is bikers, at least,” said Jaime Vidal.

Her husband Jorge, 30, said his main concern is for his family.

“My children, my wife, and myself,” he added.

Vandalism by bar patrons is also a worry. “Who's going to be responsible if a beer bottle is thrown and breaks our window?” he wondered.

Gormley adamantly denies that Ghostriders was a “biker bar,” or will be.

“That's absolutely not true,” he said. “The biker bar is down the street, (formerly known as) The Lariat,” at 406 Bell.

His customers “are going to be just like they were before, the local community.”

During the long process of getting county permits for the new Ghostriders, and the difficult ABC license review, one of Gormley's biggest foes has been St. Anthony's Catholic Church. The church, at Helena and Waite streets, is a short block west of the relocated bar.

In letters to county planners, the Rev. Charles Hofschulte predicted “noise problems for the neighborhood” and said the bar-restaurant's offsite parking at 439 Waite poses safety concerns for patrons “walking at night through unlit streets.” He also contended “bar patrons walking dark streets at night may pose a security hazard to our female parishioners and their children, who frequently walk to and from church.”

Much of Ghostriders' weekend business will be during the day, the reverend added, which will “disrupt our Sunday Masses and other liturgies such as weddings and quinceañeras on Saturdays.”

Gormley said such assertions are completely baseless. “There's no impact at all” on the church at the new site, he said. “This is all fabricated on their part.”

He added: “I've had a liquor license for 23 years, and zero violations. That's an incredibly good record.”

Opposition to his bar, while vocal, has come from a small group of people aligned with the church, he asserted. “Most of the community, by far, has been on my side during this long debate.”

Several writers sent letters supporting Ghostriders to county planners, but none have yet been received by the ABC, Albrecht said.

Barbara Fagan, who owns the Los Alamos Depot Antiques mall across Bell Street, plans to attend Wednesday's hearing and oppose the liquor license.

“We need more businesses in town,” she said, “but I'd rather not see another bar. I think it's a very poor location for it,” she added, because there would be about 10 homes nearby - including Fagan's, at 259 Helena - “many of which have kids.”

She thinks “the general sentiment of the community is they don't want it.”

Chuck Schultz can be reached at 925-2691, Ext. 2241, or cschultz@santamariatimes.com

April 9, 2007