Work Session On Alcohol Ordinance Monday, Vote Set For Tuesday

Thursday, October 31st, 2024

The Dalton Mayor and Council will hold a public work session on Monday, November 4th at 5:00 pm to review proposed changes to the City's alcohol rules. There will be an opportunity for public comment and feedback during this work session. There will be a called meeting of the Mayor and Council to consider a vote on the ordinance Tuesday, November 5th at 11:00 am. 

The City of Dalton has studied changes to Chapter 6 of the City's Code of Ordinances for much of the year. Chapter 6 deals with licenses and rules for the sale of alcoholic beverages in Dalton. The review was part of a larger review of the Code of Ordinances to ensure the ordinances were not in conflict with the City's new charter and current state laws. The first set of proposed changes outlined in March would bring the City into compliance with state guidelines for closing times for businesses selling alcohol. The proposed Ordinance 24-27 has gone through several different revisions in response to feedback from the public and business owners during a series of public information meetings that were held in August and September. 

The latest version of Ordinance 24-27 will be presented for the Mayor and Council's review during Monday evening's work session. The ordinance will not be on the agenda for the Council's meeting later that evening at 6:00 pm. Instead, the ordinance will be considered for a vote at the called meeting on Tuesday morning which will allow time for any potential changes to be made following the work session. Monday's work session will include time for public comment and feedback. Because Tuesday morning's meeting will be followed immediately at 11:30 am by a public hearing on a property tax increase, there will not be time for a public comment period at Tuesday morning's meeting. 

CLICK HERE to read the latest version of Ordinance 24-27

Below is a summary of changes to the proposed ordinance that have been made since the September 11th public information meeting: 

  1. Sec. 6-1: Added a definition of “café.” It will have the same hours as other pouring outlets except for restaurants.
  2. Sec. 6-1: Slight change to definition of restaurant for clarity.
  3. Sec. 6-7: The powers and duties of mayor and council regarding licenses were changed to show that mayor and council will grant or deny an application after a recommendation by the PSC unless the PSC does not hear the application within 60 days of filing with the clerk. In that instance, the mayor and council can consider the application without a recommendation.
  4. Sec. 6-8: The powers and duties of the PSC were changed to allow PSC to review applications and make a recommendation to mayor and council.
  5. Sec. 6-19: Restaurants are allowed to serve until 2:00a.m. All other pouring outlets must stop serving at 1:00a.m.
  6. Sec. 6-20: Restaurants now may close at 3:00a.m., although they must still stop serving alcohol at 2:00a.m. pursuant to Sec. 6-19. All others must be closed at 1:30a.m.
  7. Sec. 6-70: Added café to the categories of businesses which can obtain a license.
  8. Sec. 6-103: Deleted reference to public recreation area in distance requirements because this is not defined or prohibited in the code.
  9. Sec. 6-107: Clarified that evidence supporting disqualification may be presented before the PSC or Mayor and Council, and a violation sufficient for disqualification may also be considered if a license is tendered while a charge is pending but not adjudicated.
  10. Sec. 6-113: Deleted all alcohol handler’s training requirements.
  11. Sec. 6-146: Added a time limit on requests for hearing following notice of denial of an alcohol license.
  12. Sec. 6-209: Added a provision allowing surrender of license, but the surrender while a charge is pending to get out of that charge is deemed an admission and causes the license to be revoked.
  13. Sec. 6-231: Slight change to reflect the change in 6-209.
  14. Sec. 6-233: Deleted 10-day suspension from 1st offense of sale to underage persons.
  15. Sec. 6-235: Deleted section (a) and merged the former section (b) into 6-234 so that there is one review and notice process.
  16. Sec. 6-234:
    • Clarified that the on-record review of the PSC hearing is the only review by mayor and council.
    • Added flexibility to continue the hearing to a date no later than 60 days following the PSC’s decision.
    • Changed the time on failure to rule resulting in a dismissal from 60 to 90 days to account for the fact that the code says mayor and council must hear it within 60 days of the PSC hearing and issue a decision within 30 days.
    • Also required a written decision to be filed with the city clerk in order to start the appeal time set forth in OCGA §5-3-7(b)(2).
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