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Groves council streamlines alcohol permitting, removes church-specific buffer in Chapter 4 amendment
Summary
The Groves City Council approved Ordinance 2025-2 on Jan. 27, 2025, amending Chapter 4 (Alcoholic Beverages) to eliminate a local metes-and-bounds requirement and remove a church-specific distance reference while keeping 300-foot buffers for schools and hospitals; staff said the change shortens permitting time and reduces costs for applicants.
Groves City Council voted Jan. 27, 2025, to approve Ordinance 2025-2, amending Chapter 4 (Alcoholic Beverages) of the city code to remove a locally required metes-and-bounds description for alcohol-permit applicants and to delete language singling out churches in the ordinance’s headings and measurement text.
City staff presented an annual review of businesses holding beer-and-wine permits and the proposed ordinance changes during the same agenda item. The police summary of 2024 calls for service at permitted locations found no incidents explicitly tied to on-premises alcohol consumption, the presenter told council.
Council members said the change is intended to streamline the municipal permitting step that applicants currently complete in addition to state licensing. Staff told council the local metes-and-bounds requirement is not a state mandate and that removing it reduces the administrative burden on applicants. Staff also said the revision would make the local process roughly $400–$500 cheaper and about four weeks quicker for applicants, and that distances to public schools and hospitals — measured per Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) rules — remain intact at 300 feet.
During deliberations, council members asked whether references to churches remained in the ordinance headings and text; staff said those instances could be removed from headings and that paragraph language describing how distances are measured was retained because it mirrors TABC guidance on measurement methodology. Council discussion did not identify opposition to the substantive changes.
The motion to approve Ordinance 2025-2 passed on a voice vote. The mayor and council members recorded aye votes.
The council also received an informational presentation listing 2024 calls for service at licensed locations, including Baytown Seafood, Alicia’s Italian Village, Columbus Club of Groves, Larry and Rita’s, Tony’s Barbecue, Milagros Tex Mex, and Burrito Bar (which was permitted but had not opened). The presenter said calls included traffic accidents, alarm activations and unwanted or trespasser complaints, and that none of the logged incidents explicitly cited on-premise alcohol consumption as the cause.
The ordinance will be filed with the city clerk and the updated code language will be used for future permit processing. Staff advised that applicants must still obtain all state licenses and comply with TABC rules.
