Changes to Springfield’s regulations for liquor sales could give renters the power to protest liquor license applications.
While the proposed amendments to the city code were initially slated to be voted on by the Springfield City Council on April 22, some last minute changes postponed a final vote to May 6. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the proposed changes — which were initiated by the City Council in November 2023 — 5-2 on March 14.
The proposed changes to city codes also would require liquor license applicants to provide nearby occupants and property owners with a mailed notice of the application.
Sponsored by Zone 1 Councilmember Monica Horton, the proposed changes would give residents of properties within a certain distance of a business applying for a liquor license more notice and more say about the application.
“One, it’s a courtesy and two, being entitled to an appeal process and to ask your legislative body to take neighborhood risk factors into consideration when a liquor license is being applied for within 200 feet of your home and certainly, within, a neighborhood that's undergoing stabilization, at risk,” Horton told the Hauxeda. “Those are the two main main things in terms of seeing that there was a need and a concern there.”
What would change with liquor licensing?
Under Springfield's existing regulations, only property owners can protest any type of liquor licenses applied for within 200 feet of areas zoned single-family residential, residential townhouse and manufactured home districts or single- and two-family residential uses in planned developments. Additionally, notice of the application is required to be provided in a newspaper and posted in four places within 200 feet of the proposed establishment.
Once notice has been posted, property owners have 21 days to protest the granting of a license. If a petition is signed by at least 50% of surrounding property owners, the application is forwarded to the City Council for consideration.
Without 50% of neighboring property owners protesting, the liquor license may be approved administratively by Springfield city government employees.
The proposed changes to the city code would allow tenants, as well as property owners, to protest liquor license applications, though only one signature per property would be allowed on a protest petition. In the event of a disagreement between a property owner and an occupant, the owner would be given precedence.
The amendments would also require a mailed notice be sent to both property owners and occupants three days prior to the existing posting requirements. The notice would include instructions on how to file a protest petition, and next steps in the event that the petition is deemed sufficient.
In an effort to “clarify” the notification requirements proposed in the bill, Zone 2 Councilmember Abe McGull suggested a mailed notice be sent to property owners three days after the protest petition deadline if an occupant protests a liquor license application, providing the property owner seven days to agree or disagree with their tenant, and potentially override their protest. If the property owner doesn’t respond, the occupants' protest will stand.
“I think it makes sense to give the owner notification of a protest that has been filed about a liquor license and, should they want to voice their opinion, they can, and I think that’s only fair in our system,” McGull said at Monday night's meeting.
The City Council approved McGull’s proposed amendments to the bill by a 9-0 vote, and will hold a public hearing on his additions before voting on the bill on May 6.
Midtown and Grant Beach concerns spur changes
The proposed changes were spurred, in part, by concerns Springfield residents raised in the Midtown and Grant Beach neighborhoods, which are both located in Zone 1. Horton said people expressed concern that potential businesses inside what used to be Boyd Elementary School — which is being redeveloped into a mixed-use development with residential and commercial units — would apply for a liquor license.
Horton partly attributed a failed protest petition to the liquor license of My Mart Discount Liquor and Smokes — formerly a Pizza Hut — located at 1201 N. Grant Ave., to the ownership status of surrounding properties, referring to the ownership requirements as a “barrier” to many.
“The issue is really getting a courtesy notification, similar to short term rentals or a rezoning case... if you're living in a neighborhood that's going through some neighborhood stabilization, and trying to make a comeback from high crime and food deserts and absentee property owners with vacant and abandoned buildings, it's one of those things where you have to kind of take into consideration residents who live in the area, regardless of property ownership status,” Horton said.
The mailed notice provision is also an important part of the changes for Horton, who hopes it provides property owners and occupants ample opportunity to protest a liquor license, and accelerates the feedback from properties whose owners might live out of state.
“The best way to do that is to get that in your mailbox, rather than stumble over a makeshift sign at the corner of the business,” Horton said.
