Impact
WARD: Citywide
COMMITTEE: Community Development
$ IMPACT: N/A
Title
Approval of Ordinance 2019-21 for proposed text amendments to the City of Smyrna's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 6, Alcoholic Beverage by amending Article I, Section 6-2 and Article II Sections 6-34, 6-37, 6-45, 6-46, 6-61, 6-62, 6-118 and adding Section 6-82 related to the licensing of wineries.
Body
ISSUE: Over the past year, the Community Development Department has met with a winery looking to locate their business within the City of Smyrna. Community Development staff has worked with the winery to identify potential business locations, as well as assist with the permitting and licensing process. The City’s Zoning and Alcoholic Beverage Ordinances are silent on wineries. The City updated the Zoning and Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance in late 2018 to address the licensing and zoning requirements for breweries and distilleries. Wineries fall under a separate classification under the State Code of Georgia and are permitted separately from breweries and distilleries. Community Development is proposing a code amendment to the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance to address the licensing requirements for wineries.
BACKGROUND: None.
RECOMMENDATION/REQUESTED ACTION: Community Development has researched the state law and surrounding municipalities to review how these governing authorities address wineries within their jurisdictions. These municipalities included Cobb County and Marietta. The proposed code amendments below are consistent with state law and ordinances of surrounding municipalities. With these proposed code amendments, the City of Smyrna will be competitive with other municipalities in attracting wineries into the City. Therefore, Community Development recommends approval of the proposed code amendments to address wineries within the City’s Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance.