Claxton to revisit alcohol ordinances

The Claxton City Council has asked City Attorney Bill Callaway to draft a proposed ordinance change for the city’s alcohol permitting. The draft is merely a proposal for council and public review and no decisions have yet been made.

Callaway is using the Evans County ordinance for consumption laws on public property as a road map to guide the city on how to evaluate any potential changes. The county allows certain licensing permits if the vendor pays upwards of a $2,000. The consideration comes at the request of a restaurant on Smith Street interested in allowing beer and wine to be consumed. Currently, no liquor sales are permitted inside the city limits of Claxton.

Some council members expressed concern about straight alcohol ordinance changes and suggested mimicking Statesboro’s policy which requires food to comprise of at least 50% of the sales for the businesses. Callaway said he would look into what that meant for Claxton’s ordinance. Additionally, the council expressed concern about adjacent property owners and asked if property owners would need to sign off allowing any business to supply beer and wine within a certain radius.

Callaway is supposed to consider the options and draft a proposed ordinance for the next council meeting.

Any ordinance change will have to be read at least twice, barring no changes, before the the council can adopt or revise anything permanently. Comments and concerns should be directed to the City Council or Mayor and may be done at the July 5 council meeting at 6PM. (Moved to Tuesday due to the 4th being Independence Day)