Decatur City Commission Approves UDO
Decatur Metro | November 18, 2014 | 9:00 am
Last night, the Decatur City Commission unanimously approved the UDO that’s been in the works for over a year, which cleans up the city’s current ordinances, creates an almost readable document out of a bunch of rambling, random ordinances, and also adds a few new laws to the books. The UDO is 400+ pages long, and you can check out the approved draft as part of the meeting agenda here.
Among the new ordinances on the books,
- a high efficiency building standard for new buildings and “substantial improvement” of residential buildings. The former goes into effect in November 2015, while the later goes into effect in February 2016.
- A 15 notification period for a demolition permit
- New zoning types – R50, R22 Multi-family residential, and Neighborhood Mixed Use District.
The majority of the UDO goes into effect February 1, 2015.
“Economic development requires us to work closely with commercial property owners, business owners and developers to assure that all of our commercial districts are functioning at their highest and best use, contributing to the City’s tax base and helping us achieve the community’s vision and goals.”
Who are the leading developers in Decatur?
Observation — Alcohol sales were eliminated under the list of permitted uses, and instead just referred to the City Ordinances for appropriate rules/regulations. I’m guessing this is a simplicity measure to keep it all in one place? Not sure about the implications of regulating via zoning vs permitting …
I also noticed in the UDO that adult entertainment is a permitted use in C-3. But when I looked up “alcoholic beverages” in the ordinances, it states that adult entertainment establishments cannot serve alcohol (or I am misreading it?) So I guess this means we allow strip clubs as long as they are dry? I was curious since proposed annexation maps in the past have danced around one particular business on Ponce.
In other news, the UDO allows craft distilleries …
Many jurisdictions have regulated the use of alcohol in adult entertainment establishments. And those laws have been upheld by the courts. Technically, yes, an adult entertainment venue could open as long as it didn’t serve alcohol. Now, would that business last very long or even get financial backing without alcohol in the first place? Nope. And that is the point.
In terms of annexation, didn’t Brookhaven just go through this in the courts with the Pink Pony? They finally reached some kind of settlement, not sure what. Guess there would be a similar legal situation if Decatur annexed the area that includes Pin Ups. Or was Brookhaven a different scenario since it was incorporation instead of annexation?
The Brookhaven issue is similar. I think PP ended up paying $200k to the city to maintain their liquor license.
$200K a year for six years, supposedly for additional police and security upgrades.
Otherwise know as a shakedown.
+1. So much for new cities having more control. Sometimes, it’s no better in a new city than it was in the old county. Be careful what you ask for.
Not clear on who you’re responding to here. I’m pretty sure Walrus was referring to Brookhaven’s actions as a shakedown.
Yep, Brookhaven, in this case, is no better than the County they are in. The whole thing is pretty shady.
That’s why I posted. Whomever annexes it will likely deal with a similar court case, along the lines of “we didn’t ask to be annexed, you can’t zone us out of business.”
Maybe this is why alcohol is an ordinance instead of a zoning item — it could be annexed and supposedly be compliant with existing zoning regulations … just some pesky ordinance getting in the way. Pure speculation on my part. I have no clue.
http://thechampionnewspaper.com/news/local/brookhaven-pink-pony-reach-agreement/
In the Brookhaven case, my read on this article is that they have no guaranty of remaining in business after their six year payout (shakedown) to the city is complete. The article implicitly says they have six years to “transition to compliance” or close. I’m guessing “transition to compliance” means no alcohol?
225k a year sounds like a lot of money. I wonder if they will even make it those 6 years (or if Brookhaven will see anywhere close to that dollar amount).
It ain’t a lot of money for that kind of business.
You know, a shakedown is a shakedown whether it is the local Mafia don or a municipality.
Or even if it’s my good friend Bob Seger.