Starkville leaders took the next necessary step Tuesday toward loosening the city’s ordinance restrictions on alcohol sales.
Aldermen voted by a 4-3 margin to hold public hearings on proposed ordinance changes that, among other things, would reduce the distance from churches, schools and funeral homes alcohol could be sold as well as extend alcohol sale hours at bars, restaurants and other licensed retail establishments.
Ward 3 Aldermen David Little joined Sandra Sistrunk of Ward 2, Jason Walker of Ward 4 and Patrick Miller of Ward 5 to push the matter to public hearings. As expected, Ben Carver, Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins and Henry Vaughn — of wards 1, 6 and 7, respectively — opposed the hearings following a failed effort during a Friday city work session to remove the item from Tuesday’s agenda.
The two hearings, the minimum required for proposed city ordinance changes, will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 5 and 19 during the board of aldermen’s regularly scheduled meetings at City Hall. Aldermen can vote on the changes no earlier than Sept. 19.
Voting blocs of three aldermen each have strongly formed around the proposed ordinance changes, with the pro-side citing economic development opportunities through restaurant recruitment and those against hearkening to their Christian faith along with public safety concerns.
Little, the established “swing vote” on the issue, is still undecided.
“I’m not sure how I’m going to ultimately vote,” he told The Dispatch after Tuesday’s meeting. “But I see nothing wrong with having a dialog about the issue with the public.”
The proposed changes
Presently, city ordinance requires new establishments selling alcohol in commercial zones to locate at least 250 feet from churches, schools and funeral homes. The proposed ordinance change would reduce that distance to 100 feet, matching the minimum set by state statute. The ordinance does not protect churches, schools or funeral homes that build within 250 feet of existing alcohol-serving establishments.
The proposed amendments would also extend alcohol sales to 1 a.m. each day, rather than midnight Tuesday through Thursday (when sales begin the day before) and 10 p.m. Sunday (when sales begin that day).
More ceremoniously, the new ordinance would also allow bars and restaurants to sell beer with up to 8-percent alcohol content as state lawmakers allowed for their sale and consumption with 2012 legislation. Currently, Starkville’s ordinances cap beer at a 5-percent alcohol content, though bars, restaurants and grocery stores have been selling craft beer with much higher percentages of alcohol since the state legislation took effect.
Starkville’s Main Street Association, Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership have all submitted the city letters supporting the changes, Mayor Lynn Spruill said.
Little, who serves as the alderman liaison to the Starkville Main Street Association Board, said he can “see both sides” of the argument.
On one hand, he told The Dispatch, the city has missed at least three opportunities for new restaurants — two on Russell Street and another on Main Street — due to the distance restrictions.
However, he said he especially understands how extending sale hours could cause greater safety hazards for citizens and Starkville police.
“I really want to see what public feedback we get,” he said, “Honestly, I’m not real excited about extending the hours.”
Spruill, who openly supports amending the ordinance, said the changes would lead to more robust retail corridors, especially downtown. She specifically pointed to a Midtown Development project at the corner of University and North Montgomery — a mixed use development that will include retail and residential space — that she said would directly benefit from the amendment. A restaurant that sells alcohol has expressed interest in locating there, she said, but can’t if the distance restrictions remain the same because of the development’s proximity to a church.
That said, she added she also sympathizes with Little’s predicament.
“I see Alderman Little getting a lot of pressure,” she said. “I think he understands his position as the apparent swing vote.”
Opposition
Vaughn was very clear on his thoughts about the amendments, doubling down on his opposition Tuesday while speaking with The Dispatch.
Easing restrictions on alcohol sales “doesn’t correspond” with his Christian faith, he said, and allowing such businesses to stay open later at night will “cost lives.”
“I have nothing against economic development, but there’s got to be another way,” he said. “If we trust, lean and depend on God, He will provide all our needs.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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