The Sparta Board of Aldermen and Mayor passed an amendment to liquor store distance requirements Thursday.
Mayor Jeff Young said the amendment will take the 500-foot distance from places of worship, schools, and parks to 300-feet.
“We sort of rushed once the referendum passed to have liquor stores in Sparta, we were forced at that time to as quickly as we could expedite an ordinance to accommodate that,” Young said. “We have been asked by one particular liquor store that has the property bought that they were leasing and they are looking for another property. They are having trouble finding anything outside of that requirement.”
Young said Tennessee does not require distance measures for liquor stores.
“After we left that conversation, we looked at other municipalities and we found that most cities either don’t have a requirement or they have 300-foot,” Young said. “There are a few have 500-foot, some in East Tennessee and some in West Tennessee, that’s what we found originally.”
Aldermen Jeff Lowery said he did not agree with the amendment.
“I have no problem reviewing the thing, I do have a problem with, and I don’t have a problem with the business itself,” Lowery said. “We are setting a precedent of setting footage for a business near churches and schools and things like that. What if ten years down the road we set a precedent, five years, next six months down the road.”
The amendment will come under a second reading before enacted.
