Alcohol at the corner store? @ GLPC 2012-10-29

The old store at the corner of GA 122 and Cat Creek Road was the subject of debate over alcohol at the Planning Commission's 29 October 2012 Regular Session. Here's a playlist.

This was the rezoning item:

4. REZ-2012-16 Cook County Land Ventures
SW corner of Georgia Highway 122 East and Cat Creek Road, Hahira
Request to rezone ~2 acres from E-A (Estate Agriculture) to C-C (Crossroads Commercial)

County Planner Jason Davenport said the owner wants commercial zoning for a store, since previous conditional use had expired, and there was concern about prohibiting alcohol, especially if

a store was opened at the end of the property next to the next-door church.

The owner, Dr. Russell Acree of Adel, spoke for. Someone from Hahira (Joe Davis?) also spoke for.

David Fields, who owns property across Cat Creek Road and just south of the subject property, spoke against,

All you have to do is have one change of ownership....

noting as reasons for requiring no alcohol: the church, children catching the school bus, the trailer park, and an Alcoholics Anonymous group that meets in his old house directly across the road. He said the one time alcohol was allowed, in 1986, a 38-year-old man was murdered and alcohol was involved.

In discussion, County Planner Jason Davenport said the church to alcohol sales distance limit was door-to-door either 100 or 300 feet, which would limit the southwest building, but not the previous store building. He said he didn't know whether the Commission could prohibit alcohol sales in the store and he would like to ask the County Attorney. In discussion of package store, convenience store, restaurant, he said:

I don't think you want to limit the applicant.... I think if you want to move on this tonight, I don't know of a way to split a convenience store and a restaurant without directly going after the alcohol, trying to get the applicant the fair use of it, but still restrict that aspect. So I think that if you do want to go that direction it might just be that you place that condition and let the county manager use the county attorney to test that before it gets to the county commission.

Davenport also clarified that limiting a package store use was standard practice, but he didn't have any confidence in limiting alcohol at a convenience store or restaurant and would have to check.

They voted to recommend prohibiting alcohol sales with a request to the county attorny for clarification.

Nobody mentioned that Dr. Acree could have been gotten the use he wanted as a variance from ZBOA. Gretchen confirmed afterwards that the county staff had not told him that. Such a variance would not have led to the problem of what happens after he some time in the future sells the property.

At the County Commission's 12 November Work Session the discussion was mainly about the alcohol prohibition. The distance from the church was still vague.

At the County Commission's 13 November Regular Session they approved the rezoning with a condition eliminating any package store use. That doesn't address the convenience store or restaurant uses. And still nobody mentioned ZBOA could have granted a variance without leaving open the future potential problems for the rest of us neighbors.

-jsq