No new liquor stores will be opening anytime soon in Milledgeville, the city’s governing authority has decided.
Milledgeville’s City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday, amending the city ordinance regulating retail package sales of alcoholic beverages. The amendment effectively lifts a moratorium established in January on the issuance of the licenses, but also bans the acceptance of license applications for six years, unless the city changes the ordinance.
The ordinance reads: “No license shall be issued for retail package sales of distilled spirits unless the number of active retail distilled spirit licenses issued in the City of Milledgeville is less than one license for every one-thousand- six-hundred (1,600) people, or major fraction thereof, in the City of Milledgeville, according to the latest United States Decennial Census.”
City Manager Hank Griffeth said in June that according to the national census, Milledgeville’s official population in 2020 was 17,070, and he confirmed there are 11 establishments in the city with licenses to sell distilled spirits. That equates to one store per 1,552 people, meaning the maximum number of licenses have already been issued.
However, Griffeth also confirmed the possibility remains that additional licenses could be issued prior to the 2030 census.
“Councils may look at changing that if there is a growth wave,” he pointed out. “Right now, the yearly estimates continue to show a decrease, just as the 2020 [census] did.”
An increase in the size of the city could lead to a change as well, Griffeth noted.
“Changes could be made as annexations happen, if that appreciably increases the population of the city,” he said.
To cut down on the density of the liquor stores, council members also restricted the distance required between them. The amended ordinance states that any new stores selling packaged-to-go distilled spirits cannot be less than 1,500 yards from an existing store.
Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Denese Shinholster said other cities have similar problems.
“The thoughts behind the moratorium and limiting new licenses are not generic to our city,” she said.
“A lot of cities are now noticing that liquor stores, convenience stores, and vape stores are opening up strategically in certain parts of their cities and counties that are poverty stricken, crime stricken, and have both drugs and other health issues. Consumers in these cases sometimes have addictive behaviors. This doesn't help at all in most situations. I think that it adds to it.
“Right now,” Shinholster continued, “our city is more than saturated based on our population and the number of stores per 5,000 citizens. I have three liquor stores in my district with a little over 3,000 citizens. This is the reason why I asked the council and the city manager to look into the moratorium in the first place.”
Fellow Alderman Steve Chambers said council members took a look at other cities’ situations and discovered Milledgeville’s new ordinance is actually less restrictive than many others.
“In looking at the map of the city we first noticed a concentration of package stores, especially north of downtown,” he said. “As in most changes in any ordinances, we look to what other cities have done in relation to what we are trying to accomplish. We found regulations according to distance and actually exceeded most by requiring almost a one-mile radius between stores.”
Chambers also pointed out significant growth would be needed to authorize the issuance of a new license.
“As it now stands, the population would have to increase by over 3,200 residents before an application would be considered,” he said.
Council member Walter Reynolds agreed with his colleagues and referenced another city’s regulations.
“Macon-Bibb enacted a similar ordinance which was even more restrictive, at one license per 5,600 residents. So, by comparison, we have a much more liberal policy,” Reynolds said.
He also suggested census figures likely will control future issues, but council members could change the policy if they felt circumstances warranted it.
“Short of a major economic development event and construction of substantial new housing stock, the decennial census would be the prevailing barometer to determine availability of new licenses,” Reynolds said.
“Council could certainly amend the ordinance before a census if demand suddenly outpaced supply and the residents were demanding more liquor stores. But I don't think that's likely to happen.”