City Commission halts ABC licenses, new homeless shelters, vape shops

At the August 28 meeting of the Toccoa City Commission, commissioners approved moratoriums on the issuance of three different sectors of city licensing or permitting.

First, commissioners unanimously approved a moratorium on the issuance of any new retail alcohol beverage licenses for package sales of distilled spirits. The moratorium will not impact businesses seeking licensing for the sale of beer and wine. The moratorium will expire on March 31, 2024, City Manager Billy Morse stated during the reading of the moratorium.

At a meeting earlier in the month, commissioners had delayed action on fines and penalties for an underaged sale violation at 156 West Currahee Street, remanding the issue back to the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. The reason for the action was comments by several commissioners regarding the discrepancy over time noted in fines and penalties approved by the commission. It was noted that the ABC Board’s recommended penalties for violation of underaged sale laws were often uniform, based on the county’s code, but that the actual penalties and fines passed by the commissioner were not always in line with that uniformity.=

Commissioner Terry Carter noted that penalties had been “all over the map,” and stated that it did not seem equitable that different businesses received different fines and penalties for the same violations. 

Commissioner Gail Fry concurred, saying that the penalties needed to be more consistent

 

Commissioners stated that the moratorium would allow staff to review city ordinances and policies, and for the commission and the ABC board to work on a resolution to the stated issues.

The second moratorium approved by commissioners was a temporary halt to the issuance of permits for new homeless shelters or rehabilitation facilities.

The moratorium would expire on July 1, 2024, Morse said during the reading of the moratorium.

Carter noted that there was an effort in communities across the state to find appropriate regulations, policies and procedures for addressing homelessness. He said stated that, in talking with many other cities, they had found that “if a community has a homeless shelter, it becomes almost a magnet, in that other communities know there are resources here, and they wil;l send homeless here.” he said that having those resources is a good thing, but stated that “on the other side, if it turns out that they can’t stay (at those homeless shelters), then these folks end up on the street here in Toccoa, so we are already seeing those issues and it is really taxing on our resources, from police to EMS to the hospital.”

Carter added that the city just wanted to “stop and be able to see what other commutes are doing to address this issue and this moratorium will give us time to study it and put something in place that is respectful and helpful.”

Next, Morse read the proposed moratorium on the issuance of permits or licenses for “vape shops.” 

Fry commented that the moratorium would apply not only to businesses that contain the words Vape Shop in the business name, but to any business selling those type products.