Howard County conditionally approves Lifetime Athletic’s liquor license; board requires floor plans limiting service areas

The Howard County Alcohol Board gave conditional approval Jan. 27 to a new Class B on‑sale license for a Lifetime Athletic facility at 7220 Leif DeForest Drive in Columbia, but required the applicant to submit floor plans that narrow where alcohol may be served.

Attorney Leanne Schreckengas acknowledged a 2024 records violation at a different Lifetime location and told the board the omission on the application was unintentional; she said Lifetime has instituted procedures to ensure records are available to inspectors. "We...initially failed to disclose a violation that occurred at the Gaithersburg Lifetime," Schreckengas said, and provided corrected application pages.

On‑site manager Christina Spencer described the facility’s poolside and cafe operations and told commissioners staff would be ServSafe‑certified and that food sales at comparable Lifetime locations have dominated revenues (one location had less than 1% alcohol revenue; another peak month reached about 16% alcohol). She said the club anticipates meeting the statutory food minimum for a food‑centric license.

Commissioners questioned the proposal to license a large premises footprint (the application listed the facility’s total square footage) and whether that could be read to permit alcohol in workout areas. Counsel and applicants agreed to limit permitted service areas to the atrium, cafe and poolside and to return a revised page showing exact square footage before the license is issued. The board approved the license verbally with the contingency that the revised floor plans and square footage be filed and accepted by the board prior to issuance. The applicants waived their right to appeal at the hearing.

The board’s action allows the facility to proceed toward licensing so long as the defined areas and square footage are provided and accepted by the board clerk.