Liberty Countians Tuesday voted in favor of allowing the sale of alcoholic drinks in restaurants on Sundays. Now, the ball is in county commissioners' court.
County Administrator Joey Brown said the process isn't as drawn out as some might assume.
"It will go into effect the day it's adopted," he said, referring to the enacting ordinance.
First, the commission has to review a draft of the ordinance. "We had a first reading of the draft last night," Brown said Friday, "and we'll have a public hearing on Aug. 5 as part of a commission meeting. Copies of a draft of the ordinance are also available for public inspection."
The commission will now have to adopt an amendment to the alcoholic beverage ordinance to include a provision for Sunday sales, which is "consistent with what the city of Hinesville is doing," Brown said.
The ordinance will only affect unincorporated areas of the county, which, according to Brown, does not impact very many restaurants.
"We only have one or maybe two restaurants that are unincorporated. Most of the restaurants are in incorporated areas."
For that one restaurant, though, the ordinance could make a big difference.
"They will have to go through an application process to obtain a permit," Brown said, "which is basically meeting the same requirements as obtaining a general alcohol permit: background checks and zoning checks."
County Administrator Joey Brown said the process isn't as drawn out as some might assume.
"It will go into effect the day it's adopted," he said, referring to the enacting ordinance.
First, the commission has to review a draft of the ordinance. "We had a first reading of the draft last night," Brown said Friday, "and we'll have a public hearing on Aug. 5 as part of a commission meeting. Copies of a draft of the ordinance are also available for public inspection."
The commission will now have to adopt an amendment to the alcoholic beverage ordinance to include a provision for Sunday sales, which is "consistent with what the city of Hinesville is doing," Brown said.
The ordinance will only affect unincorporated areas of the county, which, according to Brown, does not impact very many restaurants.
"We only have one or maybe two restaurants that are unincorporated. Most of the restaurants are in incorporated areas."
For that one restaurant, though, the ordinance could make a big difference.
"They will have to go through an application process to obtain a permit," Brown said, "which is basically meeting the same requirements as obtaining a general alcohol permit: background checks and zoning checks."