Small grocery stores in the Town Center Zoning district can now sell alcoholic beverages. The Douglas city commission approved the request at last Monday’s regular city commission meeting.
With the new apartments located downtown and more people visiting the district, owners of the small grocery stores had asked to be able to sell alcoholic beverages. In order to do so, however, the city had to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance. The change affects grocery stores in the Town Center Zoning District with at least 4,000 square feet of retail space of which 85 percent is devoted to the sale of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The commission had held the first reading of the proposed change to the ordinance at the November 27 meeting. Commissioners held the public hearing and second reading last Monday night then took a vote. The item passed unanimously.
Commissioners also approved an application and accompanying $35 fee if residents in the city would like to place a storage building (referred to as an accessory unit structure) on their property. The Unified Land Development Code regulates the placement, design, location, etc., of storage buildings. However, there had been no permitting process for the structures. The $35 fee is for “properly processing, setup, and inspection of Accessory Unit Structures.”
Commissioner Ed Taylor asked that the fee be reduced to $25. However, none of the other commissioners had an issue with the $35 fee so he went along with the rest of the commission. Commissioner Cindy McNeill abstained from voting; her family sells manufactured houses and storage buildings. The rest of the commissioners (Durham, Gowen, Bailey, and Taylor) voted to approve the fee.
Commissioners also made several appointments to local boards:
- Reappoint Jade Ogden to the DDA
- Reappoint Alvin Ricketson to the Planning Commission
- Reappoint Dr. Jim Cottingham to the Historic Preservation Commission