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Cherokee County staff to add limit on extensions in alcohol licensing amendment
Summary
County staff proposed edits to Section 6-85 clarifying package-store licensing steps, including a 90-day deadline for lottery finalists to apply for a special-use permit and a board-granted extension limited to one additional 90 days; commissioners asked staff to add parenthetical language clarifying rezoning applies 'if required.'
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 20 reviewed proposed clarifying changes to Section 6-85 of the county's alcoholic beverage code, focusing on the process and timelines for package store applicants.
County planning staff said the amendment revises steps 5–7 to make explicit that a successful lottery finalist has 90 days to apply for a special-use permit (SUP), and that the board may grant an extension for due cause. "Once they've been chosen, that finalist has 90 days to apply for a special use permit," staff said during the work session. Commissioners asked staff to spell out that rezoning would apply only "if required," and to add a firm limit on extension requests.
Chair (speaker 1) summarized the board direction: "We're leaning toward adding this limitation of a single 90-day extension up under step 5." Commissioners debated trade-offs between keeping the process moving and allowing flexibility for applicants who encounter hurdles during permitting and construction. Board members pressed staff on related deadlines in later steps of the process — including the two-year timeline for construction and a 90-day window to open after a certificate of occupancy — and whether those deadlines should be eligible for extensions.
The board also discussed transfer rules for applicants who change sites within a district. Staff noted the existing ordinance is silent on transfers and that allowing a transfer could require restarting some parts of the review clock. "If you're going to allow a transfer, you then have to decide ... do they truly start every clock again?" one commissioner asked.
Staff said it will revise the draft before the public hearing to: add parenthetical wording so references to rezoning read "rezoning (if required)," codify that a lottery finalist has 90 days to submit an SUP application, and include a provision limiting the board-granted extension at step 5 to one 90-day extension. The changes are scheduled to appear in the public-hearing packet for the board meeting later this month.
Next steps: staff will prepare the amended ordinance language and present it for a public hearing and formal vote at the upcoming board meeting.
