City Of Milton: Council Takes Series Of Votes To Revise Alcohol-Related Part Of City Code

Press release from the City of Milton:

10/19/2021 10:30 AM

In a meeting that stretched beyond midnight, Milton’s City Council engaged in substantive discussion and took a series of votes on revisions to Chapter 4, the part of the City Code pertaining to alcohol-related businesses.

Much as she did several weeks ago, Assistant City Manager Bernadette Harvill began Monday’s meeting by explaining Chapter 4, including definitions and license types, and proposed changes based on past feedback from the City Council.

Before Council members weighed in, they heard a range of comments from the public. All told, nine individuals (one by email) shared their opinions, with some favoring efforts to tighten up Chapter 4, several supporting Billy Allen’s proposed piano bar and restaurant in the Market District (including Allen himself) under the existing guidelines, and a pair opposed to changes they felt might negatively impact the Painted Horse farm winery.

At Mayor Lockwood’s suggestion, Harvill walked the Council through the proposed Chapter 4 revisions piece-by-piece – followed by discussion and votes. That resulted in numerous votes and corresponding changes, including: 

• Requiring that any establishment’s application for a new alcohol license be advertised on the property and in a local newspaper, namely the Milton Herald. While this had once been required in Milton, it had not been in recent years.
• Stating that any “liquor-selling establishments” (such as package stores) cannot also sell CBD products, vaping products, “games of chance” and/or video games. This new requirement should not affect any existing Milton businesses.
• Allowing establishments to offer BYOB from 9 a.m. to 1 hour before closing on Monday through Saturday (then 11 a.m. to 1 hour before closing on Sunday). Another vote limited BYOB to beer and wine only.
• Not permitting establishments with a 70-30 alcohol-food ratio – with one caveat -- to remain open Monday-Saturday until as late as 2 a.m. (There’s a moratorium currently on any new applications with this ratio, defined as “limited service restaurants.”) The exception is Billy Allen’s, which plans to open in Crabapple’s Market District and received an alcohol license in June from the City. The language adopted Monday allows Billy Allen’s to be able to renew its alcohol license under the same terms, conditions, including the alcohol-food ratio and hours (meaning it could have a 70-30 ratio and remain open until 2 a.m.).
• Striking the definition of city food markets, courtyard markets, food halls and food hall cafes as current options for alcohol-related licenses.
• Requiring that a farm winery’s tasting room be at least 50 feet from a property line and no more than 2,500 square feet in size. The Council also set farm winery tasting hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday-Saturday and from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
• Stating that “consumption on-premises” at a Milton farm winery cannot be more than 20 feet area completely surrounding (i.e., “immediately adjacent” to) its tasting room.
• Allowing “ancillary tasting” from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday of beer and wine in retail package stores, in amounts in accordance to state law. Liquor tasting would only be allowed in distilleries and micro-distilleries only.

Not all the votes were unanimous. And the Council could revisit Chapter 4 details, soon or further into the future.

Later in the meeting, the Council extended for another 60 days a moratorium on new alcohol applications, building permit applications, and land disturbance permit applications for farm wineries in Milton.

Hours before these proceedings ended, the Council began with an invocation from Milton Fire Chaplain Rabbi Michael Bernstein of Congregation Gesher L'Torah in Alpharetta. Afterwards – during the general public comment portion of the meeting -- five Milton residents advocated for the City of Milton to manage its own municipal elections rather than having Fulton County administer them.

The Council then approved the meeting’s Consent Agenda including continuing the City’s relationship with ClearGov to promote transparency through in-depth online tools featuring details on City revenues, expenditures, projects, and more, as well as contracting with KCI Technologies on completing and implementing a Local Road Safety Plan.

Next, Council members Rick Mohrig and Joe Longoria together presented a proclamation recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Milton. They shared facts about this disease, touted importance of early detection while encouraging regular checks, and shared personal stories – including the fact each of their wives are breast cancer survivors.

Another Council member, Laura Bentley, then spoke about Milton resident Leanne Wheeler, a mother and advocate of prevention and the importance of genetic testing who herself battled an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Wheeler, as well as the wives of Mohrig and Longoria, then joined the Council for a picture.

Community Development Director Bob Buscemi gave a general overview of his department’s activities in recent weeks, then brought up three staff to dive a little deeper. 

• Code Enforcement Supervisor Chris Williams talked about his and colleague Deidra Jones’ ramped-up efforts to address code violations in and around the Highway 9 area.
• Arborist Sandra DeWitt discussed conducting pre-construction inspections, working with developers on where and what trees to plant, and efforts to keep Council members up-to-date on the issuance of tree removal permits.
• Conservation Project Manager Teresa Stickels briefed the Council on the City’s “Adopt-A-Road” program to reduce litter along Milton’s roadways and to protect Milton’s waterways, noting 41 roads are currently covered (up from 17 in 2010).

Special Events Coordinator Anita Jupin then gave a presentation about proposed changes to how the City handles special event permitting.

Jupin explained that the City sought to revamp its special event permitting process in order to provide clarity to those interested in holding events, promote efficiency within City staff, and generally reflect the City Council’s vision.

City staff offered several recommendations, including limiting the number of special event permits that could be granted annually at certain locations (two at private properties and 12 at a “privately owned public space”). The Council expressed openness to a proposal to allow food trucks at permitted special events in addition to City-sponsored events. (Right now, they’re only allowed at City-sponsored events.) This led to a discussion as to whether food trucks should be allowed generally, with Council member Paul Moore advising that any decision should take into account food trucks’ potential impact on traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants.

As Jupin noted, even after a special event permit is granted, the recipient still must abide by City noise and other requirements. No vote on this matter was taken Monday, but something could appear on the Council agenda in the coming months.

After the four-plus hour Chapter 4 discussion and votes concluded, the Council took up several “New Business” items. They included the approval of an alcohol beverage license for a Mediterranean restaurant slated to go next to I Love NY Pizza in Birmingham Crossroads, as well as the adoption of the City’s list of approved waste haulers for 2021-2022.

One of the Council’s final actions – taken around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday – was to OK a contract for Advanced Sports Group to turf over the two grass fields at the Cox Road athletic complex.

The City acquired this facility in southwestern Milton in early 2020 in line with efforts to expand the number of fields for citizens and Milton athletic programs. The Cox Road facility’s use, though, has lagged behind Bell Memorial Park in part because of its lack of turf fields (except for a small one by the entrance). In an April presentation to Council, Parks and Recreation Manager Tom McKlveen raised the prospect of adding artificial turf on the Cox complex’s two large fields and reconfiguring them for use for lacrosse, football, soccer, baseball and other sports. This is in keeping with the Parks and Recreation Master Plan calling for more fields, especially rectangular ones.

At this more recent meeting, McKlveen came before the Council again to ask them to approved a contract to turf the fields. With the affirmative vote, work may begin in the coming months. The total cost is more than $1.3 million for turfing, fencing, netting, and goalposts; over $47,000 for a cool infill surface to prevent overheating; and another $19,000-plus for football goalposts.

Milton’s City Council is next scheduled to meet on Monday, November 1.

This press release was produced by the City of Milton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.