Augusta City asks planning to map off-premise alcohol licenses, eyes zoning through a growth-management plan

Augusta City commissioners on Thursday directed the Planning and Development Department to provide detailed data on off-premise alcohol licenses and to research separation-distance requirements for package shops and liquor stores, part of a broader effort to prevent concentrations of off-premise alcohol sales in some neighborhoods.

Planning staff told the commission Augusta has roughly 410 business licenses linked to alcohol across varied categories — convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, liquor stores and event centers — and reviewed existing distance rules. "Statewide it's the same as our ordinance: 100 yards from any church, 200 yards from any school and 100 yards from any kind of treatment center," a planning staff member said, adding the city currently enforces a 500-yard separation between liquor-retail outlets but does not have a specific ordinance for distances between convenience or grocery stores.

The planning director recommended pursuing a growth-management plan tied to the comprehensive plan so zoning can be used to manage where and how alcohol retailers cluster. "Zoning is the tool that will deal with proximity if we do it right," the director said, asking the commission to consider resources and time to develop the plan.

Commissioner Pium, who requested the item be revisited, said the discussion started after a local store obtained alcohol licenses and several areas then saw rows of off-premise outlets. "That's become problematic for a lot of the constituents and I'm consistently receiving phone calls and emails in regards to that," Pium said, urging colleagues to find a path forward.

Votes at a glance: the commission also took up several license applications tied to the alcohol item and approved them by unanimous vote. Applicants and items recorded in the meeting were:
- Alcohol 26-22: Tiffany's Fau (existing location/new ownership), applicant Florence Henley — approved (no objections noted).
- Alcohol 26-31: Nano-distillery license for Graze Distilling Company LLC, applicant John Luca Derdinas — approved (no objections).
- Alcohol 26-32: Retail package beer and wine for Maasha LLC, applicant Kesh Patel — approved (no objections).
- Alcohol 26-33: Retail package beer and wine (existing location/new ownership) for Downtown Grocery LLC, applicant Salman Aman — approved; safety-condition agreement noted and staff said the sheriff's office checks conditions periodically.
- Alcohol 26-34: Full-service restaurant (on-premise liquor/beer/wine with Sunday sales), applicant Judy Mitchell — approved.

Why it matters: Commissioners and staff framed the work as an effort to balance business activity with neighborhood quality, giving the commission tools to manage clustering through zoning rather than solely through the licensing code. Planning staff said the city can adopt rules stricter than the state for certain types of retailers and recommended integrating such choices into an updated zoning framework.

What happens next: The commission formally directed Planning & Development to prepare the requested data and separation-distance research. Staff indicated any ordinance changes or a growth-management plan would return to the commission for additional committee review and a future vote.