LIQUOR, BEER AND WINE ORDINANCE
EVANS COUNTY, GEORGIA
Amended 6-1-10
BE IT ORDAINED by the
Evans County Board of
SECTION 1.
(a)
County shall refer to and shall
include all property within the confines of
Evans County, but excluding all property located
within the corporate limits of any
municipal corporation located therein.
(b)
Commission or Commissioners shall mean the Evans County Board of
Commissioners.
(c)
Beverage as used in this Ordinance shall include whiskey, liquor, beer,
wine, malt beverages, fortified wine and any
other distilled or fermented alcoholic
beverages, regardless of percentage of alcohol by
volume contained therein.
(d)
On Premise Consumption shall refer to consumption in the building
housing the point of sale, such as bars, parlors,
or restaurants, with the term restaurant
meaning that its main source of income is from
food service, and full meals are offered.
(e)
Off Premise Consumption refers to any business such as shop and go’s or
Convenience stores and where consumption is away
from the property and building housing the point of sale.
SECTION 2.
(a)
All applicants for retail licenses which may be issued under this
Ordinance, and all persons who will be employed
at the establishment at which the license will be exercised, shall be of good
moral character, to be judged of and by the Commission, and if any of them are
found by the Commission not to be of good moral character, the application
shall be denied.
(b)
No applicant for a retail license which may be issued under this
Ordinance, who has a criminal record, or who has
been convicted of violating any law or regulation of the State of Georgia, or
any political subdivision thereof, or of the United States of America,
governing or relating to the sale of any alcoholic beverage, or any applicant
that has been convicted of a felony, shall be granted a license hereunder. The forfeiture of bond collateral shall be
considered as a conviction for the purpose of this subsection.
SECTION 3.
All
applications for new licenses under the provisions of this Ordinance shall be
made in person by the applicant, at the office of the Evans County
Commissioners, and the required license fee tendered therewith.
SECTION
4.
All applications for renewal of
licenses, which have been issued under the provisions of this Ordinance, shall
be made in person by the applicant, at the office of the Evans County
SECTION
5.
No
new license shall be issued under this Ordinance for a location within 600 feet
of a dwelling house without the written consent of the owner of the house. This provision does not apply where a
dwelling house was constructed or moved to within 600 feet of the location with
an existing license, or a location which seeks to re-open after having been
closed for 5 years or less. The distance
is to be measured from any point of the proposed building to the nearest
portion of the outside wall of the dwelling house. For the purpose of this section, dwelling
house shall include mobile or re-locatable homes, duplexes and/or apartment
buildings. Also, no new license shall be
issued under this Ordinance for any location forbidden by State law. For purposes of the section, the term
“location” shall include any building or portion thereof, however divided,
allocated and/or used for any purpose authorized by this Ordinance.
All
commercial establishments allowing the manufacturing, distributing, selling,
handling, possession for sale, or otherwise deal in alcoholic beverages,
including the allowance of the consumption of alcoholic beverages of the
premises, shall be required to have all applicable licenses required by this
ordinance and the general laws of this state.
Under
this section, a commercial establishment is defined as any business enterprise
or entity that sells or offer for sell any goods or services for monetary
enumeration. This shall include any and
all establishments for which a fee is charged for admittance, whether same is
described as a membership fee, due, cover charge or any other designation. A commercial establishment shall not include
an infrequent operation of a business enterprise that is not open for business
more than one day during any given month.
An applicant should apply for an Off
Premise Consumption License if he or she desires to sell alcoholic
beverages by the bottle or can only, and those alcoholic beverages are consumed
by the buyer away from the building housing the point of sale, or its related
premises.
SECTION
6.
The
making of any statement on an application for a license under this Ordinance
which is later found to be false shall be grounds for revocation of any license
which has been issued pursuant to said application.
SECTION 7.
(a) No license issued under this Ordinance
shall be transferable, except upon written application for transfer being made
and approved by the Commissioners, and upon payment of the required transfer
fee. The applicant for transfer shall
meet all of the conditions for issuance of said license and shall be subject to
all of the terms and provisions of this Ordinance, except the requirement of
prior compliance with the provisions of Section 17, unless the Commissioners
shall deny said application for transfer shall be considered a new applicant
and shall be required to comply with the procedures set forth in Section
17.
(b) The transfer fee to be paid by the
applicant for transfer at the time of application for said transfer of an
existing license shall be a sum equal to a new license fee, but subject to
quarterly pro-ratio for the remainder of said calendar year.
(c) The application for a transfer of an
existing license shall only be considered by the Commissioners if the
license-transferor is, and has been, in compliance with the terms and
provisions of the Ordinance, and the business premise for which said license
was issued has not been closed for a period of more than 30 days.
SECTION 8.
No alcoholic beverage
licensed for sale under this Ordinance shall be sold at any time when the sale
thereof is prohibited by State law.
No
alcoholic beverage licensed for sale under this Ordinance shall be sold on any
Sunday, Thanksgiving or Christmas.
The
holder of an On Premise Consumption license may allow alcoholic
beverages to be sold at any time between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:45 a.m.,
Monday through Friday, except stated holidays.
The establishment shall be closed at precisely 12:45 a.m. at each
closing and the premises cleared by 1:45 a.m. the following morning on Monday
through Friday. On Saturday, alcoholic
beverages may be sold at any time between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00
a.m., except stated holidays. The
establishment shall be closed at precisely 12:00 a.m. at each closing and the
premises cleared by 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
The clearing of the premises shall be the responsibility of the license
holder.
The
holder of an Off Premise Consumption license may allow alcoholic
beverages to be sold at any time between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.,
Monday through Friday, except stated holidays.
The establishment will be required to lock all coolers that contain any
alcoholic beverages precisely at 1:00 a.m. on said nights. On Saturday, alcoholic beverages may be sold
at any time between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m., except stated
holidays. The establishment will be required
to lock all coolers that contain any alcoholic beverages precisely at 12:00
a.m. on Saturday night.
SECTION 9.
All
holders of licenses issued under this Ordinance shall keep a copy of this
Ordinance posted in the licensed premises at all time, and shall thoroughly
familiarize themselves, and thoroughly instruct each employee of such
establishment with respect to the provisions hereof.
SECTION 10.
Any
license issued under this Ordinance may be suspended for a definite time, not
to exceed six (6) months, or may be revoked, for the performance of any act
which is by the licensee, or by any employee of the licensed establishment
prohibited by this Ordinance, or for the failure of the licensee, or any
employee of the licensed establishment to perform any act required by this
Ordinance, or for the violation by said licensee, or by any employee of the
licensed establishment of any law, State or Federal, relating to the sale of
alcoholic beverages.
SECTION 11.
Any
license issued under the provisions of the Ordinance may be suspended for a
period of time, not to exceed six (6) months, or may be revoked, should the
licensed establishment become a place of disturbances or acts of disorderly
conduct, violence or gambling, or should said licensed establishment hold or
allow to be held, any event involving the discharge of firearms occurring in
said establishment, or on the premises thereof; provided that when the license
of any establishment has been revoked or not renewed, no further license shall
be issued under this Ordinance to any person, firm or corporation at said
location for a period of at lease twelve (12) months from the date of the
revocation. In the event any license is
suspended or revoked hereunder, the holder of said license may appeal the
decision to suspend or revoke said license by filing an application for appeal
with the Clerk of the County Commission of Evans County. Said appeal to be placed upon the new
business agenda for the first regular meeting following suspension or
revocation.
SECTION 12.
No
license issued under this Ordinance may be suspended or revoked, and no
performance bond forfeited in whole or in part, under the provisions of this
Ordinance unless the licensee has been afforded an opportunity of a hearing
before the Commission. The licensee
shall be given at least ten (10) days written notice, delivered to licensee in
person, or by United States registered mail, of the time, place and purpose of
the hearing, and the grounds of suspension, revocation or bond forfeiture upon
which the Commission proposes to take action.
At any such hearing, the licensee shall have the right to appear before
the Commission in person, and by attorney, and to have witnesses appear in his
behalf. Action taken by the Commission
in suspending or revoking any license, or in forfeiting any performance bond,
in whole or in part, shall be final.
SECTION 13.
The
issuance of a license under this Ordinance for any calendar year or portion
thereof, shall not be deemed to vest the licensee with any right or renewal
thereof.
SECTION 14.
The
premises of any establishment licensed under this Ordinance shall be made
available by the licensee for inspection, at all reasonable times, by the
Commission or other authorized County personnel.
SECTION 15.
No
license shall be issued under this Ordinance to any person, firm or corporation,
whose license has been revoked within a period of twelve (12) months following
the date of such revocation, either at the location at which such license or
licenses were revoked, or at any other location. In the event an applicant is denied a license
based of Section 2(a) or 2(b) of this Ordinance, no new application by him will
be considered within twelve (12) months of the denial.
SECTION 16.
No
license shall be issued under this Ordinance to any person who is in fact a
front for any person whose license has been revoked. No person, be it employee or licensee, shall
be employed in Evans County by any other licensed establishment during the
period of revocation.
SECTION 17.
The
following procedure shall be followed with respect to each new application for
issuance of a license under the Ordinance, which is filed with the Commission.
(a)
At the time of the filing of such application the applicant shall
deposit
with the
Clerk of the Evans County Commission cash or certified check in the amount
determined by the Commission as sufficient to pay the cost of the license.
(b)
Promptly upon the filing of each new application, the applicant shall
cause
to be published in the official newspaper for the
County four consecutive times a notice in such form and containing such
information as shall be determined by the Commission, including the name and
address of the applicant, the location for which the license is sought, the
type of license applied for, and the time and place that the application will
be considered.
(c)
At the time and place that the license is to be considered the
Commission
shall hear relevant evidence concerning the
issuance of the license. The applicant
may appear in person, and by attorney and have witnesses appear in his
behalf. At the conclusion of the
evidence, the Commission shall approve or deny the applicant’s license. If, in the event the applicant’s license is
denied, the Commission shall place in its minutes the reason or reasons
therefore.
SECTION 18.
Upon the adoption of
this Ordinance, all provisions hereof shall become immediately effective, and
all resolutions and ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby replaced. All previous liquor, beer and wine ordinances
and any amendments thereto are hereby repealed.
So
amended this ________ day of _________________, 2010.
EVANS
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
___________________________
___________________________
June Ellis, County Clerk