Decatur amends alcoholic beverage ordinance

Decatur’s commission amended its alcoholic beverage ordinance Monday, removing the distance limitations from schools and colleges in two specific cases. The first essentially removes distance requirements between a school and restaurant (technically, “consumption on premises”) and between a school and grocery store (“consumption off premises”).

This currently affects Decatur in two areas. The proposed Cousins Properties development on the Callaway Building site is next door to Decatur High, and a tentative plan to build a new Early Childhood Learning Center is near the East Decatur commercial district.

Last March the state legislature passed House Bill 85, allowing local governments to lift those restrictions of off- and on-premises sales of alcohol within 200 yards of a school.