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Morrow City staff outline major changes to draft alcohol-licensing ordinance
Summary
City Manager Jeff Baker reviewed extensive edits to Ordinance 2025-07 on Sept. 23, 2025, proposing caps on package stores tied to the 2020 census, new spacing and property-size requirements for retailers, tasting limits, a 25-ounce container-size change, and a revised fee schedule. The council recessed into executive session; no final vote on the ordinance is recorded.
Morrow City Manager Jeff Baker reviewed a series of substantive changes to Ordinance 2025-07, a draft amendment to the city's alcoholic beverage licensing code, at a Sept. 23, 2025 work session.
Baker told the council the draft adds language to clarify how properties such as churches and schools are treated under the ordinance, narrows the circumstances in which retail dealer licenses may be considered, and caps the number of package stores at one license per 3,000 residents based on the 2020 census. He identified a container-size change to 25 ounces to allow whole bottles of wine to be sold.
The draft also includes new requirements for package-sale applicants: a minimum separation of 2,500 yards between package-sale locations, ownership of at least 2 acres of property for applicants, and a minimum of 15,000 square feet of retail space. Distilled-spirit sales would require a conditional-use permit under the proposed rules, Baker said.
The ordinance would regulate on-site tastings by requiring an educational component, limiting tasting areas to counter spaces that do not exceed 10% of a store's floor area, and capping sample sizes at 2 ounces for distilled spirits and 4 ounces for malt beverages and wine. The draft specifies that samples must be opened and poured by a licensee, employee or brand ambassador.
Baker also presented an updated fee schedule in the draft ordinance that would, among other charges, set a $5,000 application fee for package sales of distilled spirits and tiered fees ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 depending on the combination of products a retailer seeks to sell.
The council recessed into executive session to discuss legal and personnel matters before returning to the public meeting; minutes record unanimous votes to enter and to adjourn the executive session but do not record a final vote to adopt Ordinance 2025-07. The ordinance appeared on the agenda for second reading and possible adoption on Sept. 23, 2025, but the meeting record does not show an adoption vote or final action on the ordinance.
