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September 2, 2010
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County alcohol ordinance faces big changes
Published November 18, 2009
Walton County officials are looking to bring their alcohol ordinance up to date, and along the way are proposing some drastic changes.
The proposal is currently during the public comment period while commissioners take a look at the new ordinance drafted by the Planning and Development Department.
One of the proposed changes, which has raised the ire of at least on commissioner, is moving the process out of the political arena and under the control of the county’s planning department. Currently, the application is filed with the county clerk and the Walton County Board of Commissioners approves each application.
“My biggest area of concern is that these applications will no longer come before the board,” District 3 Commissioner Vickie Gasaway said. “Sometimes people feel the need to have their voice heard and that is why I think things need to remain as the status quo.”
Gasaway, who abstains from most alcohol permit votes, added while she can’t in good conscience vote against a permit that complies with ordinances, in some instances, they don’t comply and she wants the ability to vote against them.
This issue was most evident in July, when the board voted to approve a license for what is commonly referred to as the Cowpens grocery store.
The commissioner’s board room was packed by members of a nearby church who did not want the convenience store to sell beer and wine. Months prior, the permit was denied because the store reportedly was in violation of the distance requirement. No members of the Planning and Zoning Department were on hand for the vote. The commissioners approved the permit four months ago because it received the approval of the Planning and Development Department.
Under the proposed ordinance, the issue at the center of the Cowpens debate would no longer exist as the distance requirements will be removed for establishments that sell beer and wine and churches. According to Mike Martin, director of the planning department, this mirrors the state law.
“All we are doing is updating the ordinance and moving it ahead,” Martin said. “All in all, most of these changes can be found in 90 percent of the ordinances in the state.”
Part of the reason in the removal of some state requirements is the changing face of the church.
Churches are no longer just buildings with steeples. Now churches are springing up in strip malls and in areas where it is not feasible to open doors to a church without forcing a nearby convenience or grocery store to not be in compliance.
Impacting local business owners, beer and wine permits will quadruple from $225 for the permit plus $19.50 for fingerprinting to $1,000 for the permit, a $200 administrative fee and $19.50 for fingerprinting.
The application will also go from four pages to 10.
“The fees have all increased to mirror those in surrounding communities,” Martin said. “In addition, this money will go toward stricter enforcement of the ordinance by this department.”
There are some proposals local businesses — and those looking to locate in the county — might not mind. Among those is allowing a courtesy cart to sell beer and wine at golf courses and allowing restaurants to have open patios where beer and wine can be consumed. In addition, the ordinance proposes, instead of using an antiquated equation based on percentages of food sales versus alcohol sales, to allow business to incorporate recreation revenue — like that from sales of bowling games or video games — to count toward their revenue stream versus revenue from alcohol sales.
The ordinance does allow for an appeal to the county’s Board of Appeals and on to the Superior Court. The proposal will be taken up at the next board meeting, scheduled for Dec. 1.
A copy of the proposed ordinance can be found at http://board
docs.
waltoncountyga.org, click on “Enter Public Site,” clicking on the Nov. 3 meeting link on the left side and “Ordinances” from the drop down menu.
Walton County does not have hard liquor sales currently.
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