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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

History of Sunday sale of liquor in Snellville

This is the last week of advanced voting for City of Snellville's referendum to allow Sunday Sales of Alcohol in city restaurants! Vote this week from 7am-5pm at Snellville City Hall.

As of last week, I heard that only about 300 people had voted. I think Snellville has about 12,000-15,000 registered voters, so that turn-out is very disappointing.

Should a small number of people decide things for everybody else? If you don't vote, you HAVE no voice. So vote!  For additional information, visit the website: www.SnellvilleYes.org


“The Prohibitionist Economic Development Disaster”
The History of Sunday Sales of Liquor By The Drink in Snellville

In March 2004, the City of Snellville agreed to allow a city wide referendum on Liquor By The Drink (LBTD). Eight months later on November 2, 2004, the citizens of Snellville made their desires known with a 1171 – 1100 vote for LBTD. The victory would be short lived.

Prior to the referendum vote, the self-appointed “Moral Police” on city council were at work to undermine the ordinance if approved. Then City Councilman, Robert Jenkins, had already enlisted his pastor, the Rev. Russ Shinpoch of Snellville FBC to preach against LBTD and urge his members to vote against the referendum. Although the ordinance passed, Councilman Jenkins along with former Councilmen Bruce Garraway and Warren Auld were apparently determined to deny the citizens of Snellville the right to consume alcohol on Sundays and gathered enough council votes to amend the ordinance and omit Sunday Alcohol Sales as an option for restaurants inside the city limits.

In six years (2004-2010), economic development in Snellville has stalled and in many cases experienced significant decline. A major developer who was set to construct a multi-million Dollar mixed used project, now known as the "bridge in the field" on Wisteria Drive, With upscale restaurants, sidewalk cafes, residential lofts and retail shops in the plans, he had to back out because the business plan of his potential tenants assumed customers "7 days a week".
Other potential businesses simply didn’t include Snellville on their list of possible locations due to the ordinance restriction; sale and consumption of alcohol limited to six days a week. Some business owners seized the first opportunity to leave the city and relocate to unincorporated Gwinnett or other city's which allow Sunday Sales.

That brings us to 2010. In November 2009, citizens of Snellville expressed their disgust with the “Prohibitionist and Moral Police” as well as Councilman Robert Jenkins, who gloried using a broken toilet as a garden planter. Finally, with a majority council whose members are small business owners, understand basic economics, and share a vision of hope, prosperity and positive growth for the City of Snellville finally regains momentum, promise and possibilities!

At the December 14, 2009 Snellville City Council Meeting, the new economic development-friendly council voted by 4-2 to enact Sunday Sales of Liquor By The Drink based on their understanding and legal opinion that the council had already been given authority to approve Sunday Sales of Liquor By The Drink in the 2004 referendum. However, former Councilman Jenkins, and a few residents, sued the city, claiming that the council had not followed the law by allowing the citizens to vote in a local referendum. Even though in Jenkins’ six years (2003 to 2009), he consistently voted against allowing the citizens of Snellville to vote in a referendum pertaining to the matter.

Immediately following the December 14th vote, seven (7) restaurants applied for Sunday Sales licenses. By December 23, 2009, eight citizens led by former Councilman Robert Jenkins filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to stop the city from issuing Sunday Sales licenses. On December 28, 2009, Gwinnett Magistrate Judge Mark Lewis issued the TRO, which prohibited the City of Snellville from issuing any additional licenses for 30 days. The restaurants that had already been issued a license were not affected…yet. On January 28, 2009, Judge Lewis ruled against the City of Snellville stating that the city was required to hold a referendum on Sunday Sales of Liquor By The Drink. The city moved immediately to appeal the judge’s ruling as well as initiate appropriate action to hold a Sunday Sales referendum at the earliest available time, which turned out to be approximately six (6) months later on July 20, 2010.

The City of Snellville also requested a new trial based on new evidence. On April 30, 2009, a hearing on the motion for new trial was held where new evidence was presented which supported the city council's ordinance modification to include Sunday Sales. Judge Lewis again ruled against the City affirming the original ruling calling for a referendum.

For the past six (6) years, the “Prohibitionist and Moral Police” in Snellville have created an economic environment that has been a disaster and resulted in a steady decline in tax revenue for the city, property values for its citizens and general quality of life for all.

On July 20th, the City of Snellville will hold a referendum on Sunday Sales of Liquor By The Drink. A Vote “YES” for Sunday Sales is an economic win-win for the City of Snellville, its citizens and its surrounding neighbors.

www.SnellvilleYes.org

Related Links:
Committee for a Better Snellville brings issue to the streets

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