Three separate items on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the Athens City Council involved two different issues regarding alcohol sales.

Cracker Barrel and Save A Lot in Athens have each requested approval to sell alcohol, while a church going on Freeman Street might prevent a nearby property from attracting buyers.

Church vs. convenience store

Five separate public hearings were held during Monday’s meeting, and the one that garnered the most discussion involved a request from Growl LLC to rezone about half an acre of property at 1432 Freeman Ave. from M-1 Light Industrial to B-2 General Business District.

The rezoning request was made so a church could be opened up at the location, which Councilman Harold Wales said used to be a dance studio.

However, this could become an issue in the future, as alcohol sales are prohibited within a 500-foot radius of a church by city ordinance, according to City Engineer Michael Griffin. The proposed church sits near an intersection with U.S. 31, and a piece of property on a nearby corner would be impacted, because any potential buyer for the real estate could not install a business, such as a convenience store, that sells alcohol.

Wales said he had been getting phone calls about the issue from both sides of the argument. He asked Griffin for clarification on why the rezoning was requested.

Griffin said churches are not allowed in an M-1, and the property would have to be rezoned for a church to occupy it. He also clarified that allowing the church to open would indeed impact potential alcohol sales from any future business at the corner lot.

Griffin said the Planning Commission recommended approving the church’s request, and that in the past, issues like this were usually resolved on a first-come, first-served basis.

“The (corner) property has not been developed yet, while on the other side, somebody (the church) is waiting on your judgment so they can occupy the building,” Griffin told the Council.

Wales asked Griffin if a potential business on the corner lot then apply for alcohol sales, should the church vacate the property in the future for any reason. Griffin responded that the corner lot business would then be allowed to apply.

Representatives from the church and the owner of the corner lot property were on hand to discuss the issue. Neither party spoke in any actual opposition to the other.

Eli Christopher said he was there to represent his father, who is a co-partner in the corner lot property. Christopher said he simply did not want a nearby church impacting the potential sale of the property and its value due to alcohol sales not being permitted at the location.

Al Bush, speaking on behalf of the church, said no one from the congregation had any issue with a future business selling alcohol at the corner lot location. Bush said the corner-lot property could not even be seen from the church due to other surrounding structures.

After some discussion, Councilman Chris Seibert said the City had made some exceptions in the past in similar situations.

“I think we can accommodate both parties on that front, especially if the church is saying they don’t have a problem,” Seibert said.

The Council voted unanimously to allow the rezoning in order for the church to occupy its new location.

On tap

The Council held public hearings for Cracker Barrel and Save a Lot, which have each requested permission to sell alcohol on the premises.

Cracker Barrel began selling alcohol last year at other locations across the country. No one at the meeting spoke for or against sales at Cracker Barrel.

John Hammons, owner of Town & County Animal Hospital, spoke during the opposition portion of the public hearing concerning Save A Lot. He said he was not opposed to the business selling alcohol but wanted to highlight the problem of litter blowing from the back of the stores in that shopping center onto the animal hospital’s property and into the creek between the two locations.

He said alcohol sales might lead to an increase in the amount of litter.

Neither public hearing were accompanied by a vote. Votes will be held at a future meeting.