Alcohol ordinance is complete

Published 8:28 pm Thursday, December 30, 2010

The alcohol ordinance is complete.

City officials worked right up until the self-imposed approval deadline of Thursday night — holding two work sessions in the past 48 hours to finalize verbiage — before passing a first reading of the ordinance in a specially scheduled meeting.

The final draft, which totals 55 pages, has been in the works for nearly two months — ever since Cullman voters approved a legal alcohol sales referendum by 53 percent in November. The full ordinance is available for download on the City of Cullman website (http://www.cullmancity.org).

With the first reading done, the city council hopes to have the second reading, which will put the ordinance into effect, at an upcoming Jan. 11 meeting.

Under the final draft, alcohol sales will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday. On Friday and Saturday nights, sales will be allowed until midnight.

In downtown areas zoned Central Business District (CBD), a limit of 50 feet will be required between any business serving or selling alcohol and nearby churches, schools or daycares. In highway Business District 1, 2 and 3 zones, a limit of 250 feet is required.

A topic that has been debated at length in recent weeks, the monthly gross receipts a business must pay on alcohol sales, has also been finalized at 12 percent.

Zoning guidelines for package stores are also set, with a 1,500 feet limit required between package stores; and at least 1,000 feet limit from a church, daycare or school.

To apply for an alcohol license, a $200 filing fee must be paid to the city, and applicants will be required to complete the Alabama Responsible Vendor program, which provides training on basic alcohol laws. Depending on the type of business, the cost of an alcohol license will vary. Fees include: $1,500 for a restaurant license, $500 for a warehouse license, $3,000 for a package store license, $5,000 for a lounge (i.e. dance club, bar) license, $1,000 for a manufacturer license and $1,000 for a wholesale license.