HomeMy WebLinkAbout02102005 Workshop HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND
SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA
WORKSHOP
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 - 6:30 P.M.
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA
ALL AGENDA ITEMS MA Y BE iNSPECTED IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA
th~'viduals will address the C~y Council with respect to agenda items immediately before deliberaJton of the item by the City Council - limit of
five minutes per speaker
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ROLL CALL
4. WORKSHOP ITEM
A. Possible Amendment To Section 10-1 Of The Code Of Ordinances Which
Restricts The Sale Of Alcoholic Beverages W~thin 450 Feet Of Churches
And Schools.
5. ADJOURN (A~~meetingssha#adj~umat1~:3~pmun~essextendedf~rupto~neha~fh~urbyamaj~rilyv~te~fCily
Council)
HEARING ASSISTANCE HEADPHONES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
FOR ALL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS.
ANY PERSON WHO DECIOES TO APPEAL ANY DECISION MADE WITH RESPECT TO ANY MA TTER CONSIDERED A T
THIS MEETING WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBA TIM
RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON
WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE HEARD. (286.0/05 F,S.)
IN COMPUANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA), ANYONE WHO NEEDS A SPECIAL
ACCOMMODATION POR THIS MEETING SHOULD CONTACT THE CITY'S ADA COORDINATOR AT 589-5330 AT
LEAST 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THIS MEETING.
Page 1 of 2
Jeanette Williams
From:
Sent:
To:
FPRichS@aol.com
Friday, February 04, 2005 1:23 AM
smaio@cityofsebastian.org
jwilliams@cityofsebastian.org
Subject: church memo from Rich
For the workshop agenda packet.
To: Mayor & Council
From: Rich Stringer, City Attorney
Date: 2/4/05
Re: Alcohol sales/church workshop
A few items of note before the workshop on Thursday:
1. While satisfying her curiosity, our City Clerk came across an old Attorney
General opinion citing a beer tax statute as pre-empting the ability of cities to prohibit the sale of
beer tbr oil'-premises consumption within uny designated distance of a church or school. The
statute is buried in the Chapter of Florida Statutes providing for a tax and permit for beer sales.
One clause states that a vendor bearing the permit is exempt fi'om local government zoning.
Although this seemed like a legislative slip-up, the statute is still on the books many years later.
Although I have some theoretical questions as to whether distance requirements
are truly "zoning" in nature and AG opinions are not binding law, because this one has been on
the books fbr so long without a court disagreeing, I would advise that we consider the opinion as
an accurate interpretation of the law until a court rules otherwise.
2. A f~w years ago, we had a question concerning the proper method of measuring
distances in the Code provision that is the subject of this workshop. In that specific instance, the
situation involved a school. Because of some experiences I had in St. Augustine I knew that
many different methodologies have been used across the country. Although the courts have not
addressed it in many years, the most current rulings set out that, if the ordinance does not specify
a methodology, distances are measured from the primary entrance of the alcohol-serving
premises to the nearest property line tbr schools (since playgrounds, etc., make the entire
grounds "active" parts of the facility), but from primary entrance to primary entrance when
measuring from a church.
Although I recall that in Florida the measurement is "as the crow flies" instead of
using the "mailman route" rule (which follows a pedestrian's route from the door, down the
sidewalks, along the street and across the next facility's sidewalk), and other staff remember the
same, I will confirm this prior to the workshop.
Since the last Council meeting, I looked at aerial photos of the Sebastian Baptist
Church and The Village, and it appears that a fairly significant portion of The Village site is
beyond the 450 foot protective zone. I had no idea of the dimensions of the subject sites or I
would have brought this up earlier.
This does not, however, lessen the potential conflict we anticipate with the emergence of
"storefront' churches in light of the federal Religious Land Uses Act.
2/4/2005