F'ville OKs liquor-by-the-drink

rules

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Fayetteville restaurants could

be pouring liquor by mid-February, now that an ordinance regulating the

process has been approved by the City Council.

The ordinance passed 4-0 after

a motion by Larry Dell that was seconded by Glenn Brewer. Al Hovey-King

was absent.

No businesses had applied as

of Tuesday morning, according to City Manager Joe Morton, but once an

application is made, it should take approximately 30 days to receive a

license if all requirements are met.

Applications must be advertised,

as with beer and wine licenses, and a hearing before the City Council

is required. If a liquor applicant has no beer and wine license, a background

check must be performed by the Fayetteville Police Department, but that

is done within the regular time frame, Morton said.

The new ordinance is combined

with the city's beer and wine ordinance, and includes changes to beer

and wine provisions as well.

Any business applying for a

license must be at least 200 yards from a residence. Businesses already

selling beer and wine within that distance are grandfathered in, and should

a future residential development be located less than 200 yards from a

business already licensed, the business would have the right to continue

operating at that location.

Stores selling beer and wine

will be required to have at least 1,000 square feet set aside for display

of groceries, and businesses selling non-grocery items will have to dedicate

a minimum of 20 percent of their total retail space for groceries as defined

in the ordinance.

In preparation for the final

draft of the ordinance, city staff researched businesses in Fayetteville

that already sell alcoholic beverages with regard to their sizes and distances

from residences.

State law requires that such

businesses be at least 100 yards from schools or churches, but there are

no such requirements for residential setbacks.

Businesses selling beer and

wine in Fayetteville range from the BP at 744 North Glynn St., which is

only 1,200 square feet, to the Wal-Mart Superstore at Fayette Pavilion,

which is 200,084 square feet (49,896 square feet in the grocery section).

Under a proposed 300-yard distance

requirement in relation to residential property, at least six of the 44

businesses in the city selling alcohol would be below 300 yards. Five

others would be close enough to require precise measurements, city staff

reported.

The Pit Stop at 485 Ga. Highway

85 South is 200 feet, or 67 yards, from residential property, falling

even under the church/school distance requirement.