Smyrna Beer Board defers Taco Station special-permit hearing to May

The Town of Smyrna Beer Board on April 7 voted to defer the public hearing on Taco Station Corporation’s alcohol permit application to the board’s May meeting.

Board members said the application had been tied 2-2 at a prior meeting and that members wanted the permit holder present to answer questions. A board member noted, “It was tied 2 to 2,” and another said the previous concerns centered on parking and seating. One member expressed worry about customers leaving with drinks, saying there was a “high possibility that people can leave with drinks.”

Board members discussed whether the town code or state statute required fencing or cordoning of an on-premises drinking area; a staff member said there was no code or state statute requirement that would force a permit holder to have the drinking section gated. The applicant was not present at the meeting. Several members said they preferred to have the permit holder present for direct questions and answers.

A motion to defer the Taco Station Corporation application to the May meeting was made and seconded; the board voted in favor and the item was postponed to the next meeting.

The board did not adopt any new conditions during the April hearing; the application remains pending and will return on the agenda in May for additional discussion with the applicant present.