Cherokee County reviews alcohol ordinance and zoning-definition updates; board to hold public hearing

County planning staff reviewed a set of proposed changes to Cherokee County's alcohol ordinance and corresponding zoning definitions during the Board of Commissioners work session on March 18, 2025. The presentation was led by the county staff member identified in the record as Ms. Spade; a public hearing on the proposals was scheduled for the evening meeting.

The proposed changes add or revise definitions and two substantive ordinance sections to align county rules with state law and to fill local gaps affecting special events, retailers and alcohol-related uses. Staff said the updates are intended to make the zoning ordinance and alcohol ordinance consistent while clarifying how certain businesses may sell alcohol.

Key elements presented by planning staff include:

- Alcohol beverage caterer: a new definition and a new Section 6-156 to allow businesses that already hold on-premises retail or restaurant licenses to obtain an additional local/state caterer license and transport and sell alcohol at off-premises catered events. Staff said the section requires caterer personnel to be 21 or older and hold an alcohol-sales permit and requires written notification to the Department of Revenue prior to each event.

- Convenience store and general merchandise store: both categories would use a 10,000-square-foot threshold to distinguish grocery stores from smaller retailers. Planning staff proposed defining convenience stores as retail establishments under 10,000 square feet whose dedicated alcohol-selling area does not exceed 15% of gross interior floor area (the proposed standard uses floor area rather than a percent of sales). Staff said they will make the convenience-store and general-merchandise definitions consistent before the public hearing.

- Farm winery and non-farm winery: staff proposed matching the zoning ordinance definitions with state law and adding a distinct non-farm-winery definition so that farm wineries (permitted with a special use permit in agricultural zoning) and non-farm wineries (allowed in industrial zoning) are handled consistently. Board members asked for clearer wording about how much agricultural product must be produced on-site; staff indicated they would clarify whether the definition requires a specific percentage (one board member read the draft as implying about 40%).

- Breweries and manufacturer definitions: staff updated brewery and brewer provisions in the alcohol ordinance to reflect state law limits and special provisions, including a per-person daily off-premises malt-beverage sales cap cited in state law (288 ounces per individual per day) and an annual production cap (6,000 barrels) referenced by staff.

Why it matters: the changes affect where and how alcohol can be sold in unincorporated Cherokee County, influence the use of county parks and facilities for events, and clarify the zoning and licensing path for breweries, wineries, caterers and retailers.

County staff also raised a policy question about alcohol sales at county-owned parks during county-sponsored events. The existing ordinance section (read aloud by staff) prohibits consumption on most county property but lists exceptions for certain county facilities and ends with the line, "this provision shall not apply to events sponsored by the county." Recreation and Parks staff said they want to host an arts and jazz festival at Veterans Park and asked whether the existing exception would allow a licensed vendor to sell beer and wine if the event is county-sponsored. County staff and several commissioners agreed the language, as written, would permit alcohol sales at county-sponsored events, but they discussed adding an annual advisory-board review so the county could reevaluate whether to continue sponsorship in subsequent years.

A public hearing on these ordinance and zoning definition changes was set for the evening meeting; staff indicated they would make clarifying edits requested by the board (for example, ensuring consistency between gross-floor-area and sales-based formulations for convenience/general-merchandise definitions and clarifying the farm-winery production language) before that hearing.