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Belton council adopts zoning amendments to implement wet/dry vote, require SUPs for new alcohol uses
Summary
The city adopted zoning changes to implement May’s wet/dry election by allowing on- and off-premise alcohol sales with specific use permit (SUP) requirements for package stores, breweries and some restaurants; council approved the ordinance with a narrow change making certain industrial districts 'not permitted.'
Belton City Council on Tuesday approved amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance designed to implement the results of the May wet/dry election and to create a permitting framework for new alcohol-related businesses.
Staff told the council the changes clarify where on-premise and off-premise consumption may occur, add definitions for off-premise consumption and microbreweries, and generally move uses such as package stores and bars into a specific use permit (SUP) process so the city can review each proposal case by case. The staff presentation noted legislative changes in 2021 tightened the state’s role on percentage-of-sales rules but left local zoning authority intact for where uses can locate.
Council members pressed staff on several issues during the discussion, including whether pharmacies or grocery stores could sell alcohol in retail or residential districts (staff pointed to the ordinance grid and said residential areas remained mostly restricted), how restaurants and bars should be treated in industrial districts, and whether college campuses had been consulted. One council member asked: “If somebody wanted to open a bar or liquor store in light industrial or heavy industrial, should that be consistent with restaurants?” Staff said heavy and light industrial districts would be handled separately and that larger manufacturing facilities would fall into a different rezoning or PD process.
Council amended the staff recommendation to make distilleries, breweries, package stores and bars in light-industrial and heavy-industrial districts not permitted (changed to NP on the zoning grid), then approved the ordinance as amended. Staff said the city would keep a 10,000-square-foot threshold in the ordinance to locally distinguish microbreweries and small production facilities from larger manufacturing operations.
A staff member summarized the city’s approach as cautious: allow new uses where appropriate but require SUP review so the council and planning staff can evaluate traffic, noise and other local impacts on a case-by-case basis. The council voted unanimously to adopt the amendments.
What happens next: the amendments are now part of the Belton zoning ordinance; businesses that fall into newly regulated categories will need to apply for SUPs or pursue rezoning as applicable.
