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Chamblee attorney outlines wide-ranging alcohol code overhaul; staff asks council to extend moratorium 30 days
Summary
City attorney Scott walked the council through proposed, comprehensive amendments to Chamblee's Chapter 6 alcohol code—covering application standards, appeals cost-sharing, on-site manager requirements, treatment of consumable hemp beverages, and a new packaged-liquor closure window—while staff requested a 30-day extension of the moratorium on new alcohol licenses to allow the city to finalize ordinance language and paperwork.
ChambleeCity Attorney Scott presented a comprehensive rewrite of Chapter 6 of the cityalcohol code Tuesday, saying the draft consolidates application and denial standards, clarifies grounds for revocation, and imposes modest cost-sharing for license appeals.
"We're trying to consolidate and clarify application requirements and denial grounds and put them more or less in one location," Scott told the council, outlining an intent to shorten appeal timelines and to reduce situations in which the city bears most appeal costs. He said the draft also removes outdated residency restrictions and revises suspension procedures in favor of graduated, clearer sanctions.
The draft addresses new product categories and operational gaps. Scott said the ordinance would explicitly exclude consumable hemp beverages from counting as food or nonalcoholic beverage sales and would count those consumable hemp products alongside alcohol sales for licensing thresholds. "If you have something that acts like alcohol, it's not being treated the same as a food sale," he said.
Operationally, the ordinance would require a primary applicant, another applicant, or a manager on-site whenever an establishment is open; without a responsible person the police would be authorized to close the business. The draft also consolidates location-buffer rules into a single section and adds a clear 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. closure window for packaged liquor stores.
Council members pressed staff on verification burdens. The attorney and staff framed a CPA-verified food-sales affidavit as a tool targeted at consumption-on-premises businesses, not an annual universal requirement. Scott recommended objective triggers for CPA verification (such as change in ownership or a substantial business model change) and periodic checks rather than mandatory yearly filings. Staff said there are about 126 alcohol licensees in the city and roughly 50 consumption-on-premises establishments.
On Sunday sales, Scott advised the council that state law constrains local authority. "Under state law to sell on Sunday you have to be a restaurant" that derives a majority of revenue from food, he said, noting narrow statutory exceptions for certain venues.
Because the ordinance is still a work product and staff needs time to update processes, city staff asked the council to extend the existing moratorium on new alcohol licenses by 30 days so the revised code can be taken up for first reading and vendors cannot submit final applications until the extension expires. Staff said applicants may contact the city in the interim but the city would not accept completed license applications until after the extension period.
No final vote on the ordinance or formal extension was recorded during the meeting; staff indicated a first reading was scheduled for the next council meeting.
What happens next: staff will refine the draft per council input and return the ordinance for first reading; council is being asked to extend the moratorium 30 days to allow staff time to finalize paperwork and processes before accepting new license applications.
