David Shockley, a commercial real estate agent from Athens represents clients who own stores in Athens and want to establish a store here
(Cleveland)- The City of Cleveland held the first of two public hearings Monday night on the adoption of regulations governing the retail sales of distilled spirits in the city.
City residents approved a referendum authorizing such sales back in November.
During the hearing City Attorney Keith Whitaker gave an overview of the regulation which include a business being considered must be located in an area that has been zoned for commercial use and is adjacent to and includes access to a state route or a city street that has at least three lanes of traffic, that can include a turn lane.
The regulations set defined setback distance from schools, churches, and residents using property lines as a basis in most cases. Only one license will be granted to a person, group or entity with similar members
In setting up the regulations the City Council desires to combat the undesirable secondary effects of businesses where package sale of distilled spirits may be sold and desires to avoid negative experiences of other municipalities and counties regarding problems with certain businesses where distilled spirits by the package are sold, which include criminal activity, undesirable community conditions, the depression of property value in the areas surrounding certain establishments, increased expenditure for law enforcement.
The fee for each license will be $5,000 annually. The city will currently limit the number of package stores to three.
A second public hearing will be held on April 10th at 6:30 PM.
City of Cleveland online information page
City residents are asked to provide any comments and send questions to Cleveland City Administrator Kevin Harris his email is kharris@cityofclevelandga.org or call (706) 865-2017.
