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Zoning board denies variance for proposed liquor store on McFarland Boulevard
Summary
The Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustment denied a variance request from A1 Investments to open a liquor store at 1500 McFarland Boulevard East, finding the petitioner failed to show a zoning hardship and citing the city’s 1,000‑foot buffer from residential uses in the code.
The Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustment on a unanimous vote denied A1 Investments’ request for a variance to allow a liquor store at 1500 McFarland Boulevard East.
Staff told the board the property sits within a GC commercial zone but intersects a 1,000‑foot buffer that the zoning code requires between liquor stores and residential uses. The petitioner requested a variance from that use‑specific standard.
Ken AOK, the attorney for A1 Investments, said the parcel sits at the corner of a commercial node and that the site’s physical constraints limit economically viable retail options. "The property really can't be used for anything other than retail," he said, arguing that a liquor store fits the site’s parking and access limitations.
Board members pushed back. One member said it was difficult to accept a claim of hardship when pharmacies, fast‑food restaurants and other commercial uses sit nearby, and another emphasized that the city’s framework adopted in 2025 established the separation standard precisely to protect residential areas. "I do not see a hardship," a board member said.
No speakers from the public appeared to support or oppose the petition. After deliberation the board voted to deny the variance, concluding the petitioner had not demonstrated the statutory or code hardships required for relief.
Implications: The denial upholds the city’s 1,000‑foot separation requirement for liquor stores adjacent to residential districts; the applicant may pursue other permitted commercial uses or seek different relief but did not receive the variance tonight.
