City Council recently approved a pair of intermunicipal liquor license transfers, while rejecting another with a tie vote.

Council approved the transfer of a restaurant liquor license from Sam’s Club in Allegheny Township to Durga Altoona Inc. for use at the former Roberts Beverage building at 1800 Pleasant Valley Blvd.; and it approved the transfer of a beer license from the Gourmet Buffet in Logan Township to Brixby LLC for use at the former UVA on Union Avenue.

Council rejected the transfer of a beer distributor license from Bopin’s Brew in Bellwood to SR Bev LLC for use in a unit of a shopping strip on Walnut Avenue that is part of the old Wissinger’s Shopping Village complex, with Councilman Dave Butterbaugh citing neighbors’ concerns that the business could accelerate what he said were deteriorating conditions in the area.

Representatives from SR Bev said they plan to appeal, although in addition to consulting an attorney, they could reapply to council in hopes that a member who was absent when their request was rejected would be present and willing to support the transfer, said city solicitor Mike Wagner.

“Some neighbors had issues” with the proposal, Butterbaugh said after the meeting. “I wanted to err on the side of caution.”

In addition to Butterbaugh, Ron Beatty and Shelly Clinich voted to reject SR Bev’s request.

Dave Ellis, Jesse Ickes and Bruce Kelley voted to approve.

Mayor Matt Pacifico was absent.

The tie meant the motion died, according to Wagner.

SR Bev hopes to put the distributorship in a space that was occupied by a church — Synago 31st Street House of Worship.

It is one of four units in a strip that faces the interior of the parking lot.

The plaza is “run-down,” and the neighborhood has had “years of adversity,” although it recently benefited by the closure of a nearby bar, Butterbaugh said.

“In my opinion, it’s a bad spot for (a beer distributorship),” he said.

The original shopping village was a boon to the neighborhood, according to Butterbaugh.

SR Bev has purchased the property, and if it can’t follow through on its plans, it’s unlikely to be able to recoup the investment, said Patrick Patel, who attended the meeting on behalf of his father, the firm’s principal.

He doesn’t understand how one additional store like the one proposed could create a problem for the area, he said.

Customers wouldn’t be drinking there — they would just buy their beer and go home, he said.

SR Bev had been looking for a place to locate a distributorship for a time before finding the Walnut Avenue site, according to a narrative in its application to the city.

“We thought that (was a) great idea for (a) start up new location … because there is lots of foot traffic over there as well as (a) tobacco store is right beside our location & also (a) beauty store as well as (a) laundromat,” the narrative states.

The company was also hoping to get permission from the Zoning Hearing Board, according to the narrative.

Durga Altoona plans to create a six-pack style establishment on the old Roberts Beverage property, in the right-most of that three-unit strip, according to Matthew Gieg, local counsel for the company.

The property is currently vacant, he said.

There is a license requirement for 30 seats, but it won’t be a true restaurant, Gieg said.

There will be a two-beer limit for consumption on premises, he said.

The agreement of sale for the property is contingent on approval by the city and the LCB, although Durga will be only a tenant there, Gieg said.

Brixby principal Amanda Kelleher wants to remodel the UVA building to create an event space. She doesn’t know when it will open, she said.

The company bought the property in May.

State Act 141 of 2000 requires that intermunicipal liquor license transfers from one municipality to another within counties be approved by the receiving municipality before applicants can apply for approval from the state Liquor Control Board, according to printed material presented at the council meeting.