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Greenville Expands Where small bars and microbreweries Can Operate; Council Approves Text Amendments
Summary
Council approved text amendments to expand the BAR 2022 use (raising the max size from 2,000 to 3,500 sq ft and allowing it in additional commercial districts) and to let microbreweries apply for mixed-beverage permits subject to size and public-safety rules; council asked staff to clarify guardrail language on security personnel before final enforcement.
Greenville — The City Council on Dec. 11 voted 6-0 to amend local zoning rules to broaden where small bars and microbreweries can operate and to add compliance standards for safety and nuisance control.
Chief planner Shontay Gubey told council the amendments raise the maximum footprint for the locally defined "BAR 2022" use from 2,000 to 3,500 square feet and allow that use in four commercial zoning districts with a special-use permit. She also proposed a new 8,000-square-foot cap for microbreweries, the option for microbreweries to seek mixed-beverage permits, and a 500-foot separation from single-family zoning. The revisions add public-safety and nuisance compliance standards (for things like assaults, underage sales, noise and trash) and an escalating set of citations and remedies.
The changes reflect earlier council direction and Planning & Zoning discussion. Gubey told council staff identified roughly 133 potential downtown and citywide sites that would meet the proposed 500-foot separation and size criteria.
Public testimony included Bill Bridges of Pitt Street Brewery, who said mixed-beverage permits helped the business recover revenue after road-construction impacts and COVID-era declines: "Having a mixed beverage permit will help us regain our business share," he said. Council members emphasized enforcement powers and the special-use-permit process for policing violations; they flagged ambiguous security-personnel language in the draft and directed staff to clarify it administratively (council agreed staff could return with a clean wording change if needed).
The ordinance amendment passed 6-0. Councilmembers framed the change as a cautious, incremental expansion to support evolving small, local hospitality businesses while keeping safeguard provisions for neighbors and public safety. Next steps: staff will finalize ordinance language and return specific enforcement clarifications if required.
