Perry city council approves six month moratorium on liquor stores
Perry city council approved a six month moratorium on liquor stores during the council meeting on Tuesday, Dec.2.
PERRY — Earlier this month, Perry City Council approved a six-month moratorium on liquor stores to evaluate if the city needs to enact stricter precautions.
During Perry’s work session on Monday, Dec. 1, City Manager Robert Smith said administration has had a number of issues relating to the provision of liquor licenses and development of liquor stores.
During the pre-council meeting on Dec. 2, Community Development Director Joe Duffy explained precautions would help protect the city against a rapid increase in liquor stores. Smith also mentioned during the work session that nearby communities have been taking a look into ongoing liquor store developments in their cities. The City of Warner Robins and Houston County passed similar ordinances this month.
Smith said if surrounding communities are putting in restrictions on package stores, he believes business owners can overrun the city, leading to an unbalanced mix of business types.
He explained the city wants to ensure they are not doing a disservice to people who want to establish a package store.
During the work session, Councilman Dan Peterson said the city wants to avoid becoming the “liquor capital of Houston County.” However, he also shared that he wouldn’t want the city to interfere with a free market, since it is an important part of the country.
The six-month evaluation window would allow city staff to evaluate the restrictions imposed by neighboring areas, review the application process and present recommendations to city council. Duffy hopes to propose local policies towards liquor stores.
The moratorium could potentially last less than six months if a solution is approved beforehand.
“This would give us time to dig into that a little bit further; identify if it’s an issue that we need to establish further protections against,” Duffy said.
Smith also said the city wants to assess current licensing procedures and make sure they adhere to current state laws.
Smith said they will come back to the city council with possible recommendations.
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