Lebanon seeks to limit liquor stores
The Lebanon City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance aimed to limit the number of liquor stores in the city limits.
The ordinance proposed by Ward 3 Councilor Camille Burdine and Ward 6 Councilor Phil Morehead would amend Title 8 of the Lebanon Municipal Code by adding a new section.
The new section would limit liquor stores to one retailer per 9,500 residents. Lebanon's population, recorded in 2023, is 48,112 residents. If the ordinance goes into effect, no more than 19 liquor stores would be allowed to operate in the city.
Lebanon has 19 liquor stores in business, with 22 currently approved.
Ward 1 Councilor Joey Carmack suggested deferring action on the ordinance until the next meeting.
'I just wanted to defer it to go through this packet the Commissioner of Finance has provided us,' Carmack said. 'So we have a chance to review it, go through, and look at all the tax revenue and tax numbers that we get from the stores before we go forward.'
The motion to defer failed.
'There's actually a fair amount of area in Ward Four along the commercial corridor that's not been developed, and with the significant sales tax revenue that we see there, it concerns me a little bit that we may be leaving some opportunities on the table as we go into the future,' Ward 4 Councilor Chris Crowell said in opposition to the ordinance.
Councilor Carmack said Ward One has land primed for development, and the sales tax revenue could bring a lot of money into the city. Ward 1 has one liquor store in operation, and Ward 4 has two.
'Most cities have an ordinance that states that for every 10,000 to 12,000 people, you can have one liquor store,' Burdine said.
Burdine said she believes that limiting the number of liquor stores will help the current businesses thrive more and keep the tax revenue flowing, if not growing. According to Burdine, people can get to any liquor store within two miles of a location in Lebanon.
'My feeling on this is if somebody really needs a drink, they can get to it,' Burdine said. 'I don't think any city needs 22 liquor stores.'
'On certain issues like this, it's hard to say are you doing a government overreach on this? At what point do we stop?' Carmack asked. 'I mean if people say they don't want any more gas stations, they don't want any more banks, they don't want any more check cashing places, where do we stop and where do we start overreaching?'
Carmack reiterated that Wards 1 and 4 have one and two liquor stores, respectively. Those are the largest wards in Lebanon.
'I don't think the population of our community looks at where the ward boundaries are of where their liquor stores are and put that first in mind,' Burdine replied. 'I think they look at what's the most convenient.'
Councilors Geri Ashley, Ward 2; Tick Bryan, Ward 5; and Phil Morehead, Ward 6; joined Burdine in voting in favor of the ordinance.
Carmack and Crowell voted against it.
The ordinance requires approval on second reading at the next council meeting before it would take effect.
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