It all came down to whether or not Avalon officials thought another bar in the borough would be a good thing. Despite vocal protests from a number of residents, Avalon Council voted Monday to approve the transfer of a liquor license from McKees Rocks.

The owner of the Mia Madre Trattoria restaurant on California Avenue, Al Nicholas, petitioned for the transfer of the liquor license not for his own establishment, but for a bar he plans to open in a nearby building. The new venture is described as an “upscale” sports bar that will impose regulations on dress and age in an effort to maintain that “upscale” designation.

Because the new liquor license is in excess of a state-imposed quota -- one license per 3,000 residents of a municipality -- the transfer had to be approved by Avalon Council before the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) would consider the application. Council held a public hearing Monday, followed by a special meeting at which officials approved the transfer in a 5-3 vote.

In a town that features any number of bars that are considerably less than “upscale,” a number of residents urged council to vote against the transfer. Although the new establishment might start out as upscale, they argued, the borough had no way of controlling what would happen in the future.

Under state law, a transferred liquor license must remain in the new municipality for at least five years.

They also pointed out the bar’s proximity to an elementary school, a playground, and a church.

Council safety committee chairman Patrick Narcisi, who lives close to where the new bar could open, said that he weighed several factors before voting in favor of the transfer. He said that he recognized the potential for a nuisance bar to open in the future, but after speaking with police felt that officers could handle any problems that came up years down the road.

He also looked at how Nicholas has improved the property where his restaurant is located, creating a business that draws many people from outside the borough. If only a couple of those customers get a good impression of Avalon, recognize that the borough does not charge a mercantile tax, and open businesses along California Avenue, it will go a long way toward revitalizing the borough, Narcisi said.

Although he admits that the new bar is “a gamble,” he thinks the risk is worth it based on Nicholas’s past record in the borough.

“I thought I’d give him the benefit of the doubt,” Narcisi said.

“We’re trusting that it will be a nice place,” agreed borough manager Harry Dilmore.

Joining Narcisi in voting for the liquor license transfer were council members Jonathan Bernstein, Tom Lloyd, Ralph Cortese and Dan Sefick. Opposed were council president Ed Repp and members Vicki Donnelly and Dave Dixon. Council member Robert Powell attended the hearing, but was called away to a family emergency prior to the vote.

The matter now goes to the PLCB, which, according to a representative of the licensing division, will conduct an investigation of the planned bar and the people who will be involved in it. If no complaints or protests are heard from people or groups within 500 feet of the bar site, the PLCB will not question whether the transfer should go through, but focus its investigation entirely on the normal criteria for a liquor license.

Placards will be posted on the site during the course of the PLCB investigation, and those within the 500-feet area will have 30 days from the date of the posting to file complaints with the PLCB. Anyone outside the area would have to file a petition to intervene in order for their comments to be considered by the PLCB. Depending on the comments and protests received, the PLCB could decide to hold another public hearing on whether the liquor license transfer should be allowed.