Sebring defeats amended alcohol ordinance

With two city council members absent Tuesday, the council voted 2-1 to defeat, on second reading, an amendment to the city's existing alcohol sales ordinance, which would have allowed pubs, bars and liquor stores to sell alcohol within 300 feet of several downtown churches.

Absent from the meeting were Councilman Bud Whitlock, who was ill, and Councilman John Clark, who had a family-medical-related absence.

Council President Scott Stanley and Councilman Andrew Fells reversed their previous votes. Councilman John Griffin voted in favor of the amended ordinance on second reading.

At its last meeting council unanimously approved the creation of an "entertainment district" in downtown, which would have attracted to the downtown restaurants and establishments that sold alcohol where food sales were not primary.

However, that required amending the city's liquor sales ordinance.

The city's current ordinance already allows restaurants to sell alcohol if their primary sales come from food, and allows for a wine boutique. But it bans the primary sale of alcohol within 300 feet of a church or school.

Before the final vote, Fells and Stanley defeated a motion by Councilman John Griffin to table the ordinance, to afford Whitlock and Clark a voice.

This allowed discussion from numerous members of the audience, primarily representing local churches, who spoke against the ordinance, as well as two merchants who spoke in favor of the ordinance.

"I think in the first reading we all voted for it," said Stanley. "I made some assumptions as to what it would allow and I think I made some erroneous assumptions as to what it was achieving.