Looser bar restrictions pass first vote in Marion

MARION - The City Council last night approved the first reading of an amendment that would loosen restrictions on businesses that serve alcohol near schools and churches in Marion.

During the meeting, which attracted a crowd of about 30, churchgoers and business owners clashed as some praised the amendment and others warned against it.

Under current regulations, new bars can't open within 300 feet of churches and schools in the city. A new proposal would reduce that distance to 200 feet and change the way it's measured, and businesses that make less than 50 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales would be exempt.

A handful of business owners spoke in favor of the change, arguing that it would attract new businesses to Marion's Uptown District.

“The way the ordinance is now, it limits the way I would be able to market my building when I am ready to sell it,” said Gae Sharp-Richardson, who operates a chocolate shop.

Another entrepreneur said it's unfair to give preferential treatment to churches and schools.

“I'm a proud property taxpayer. It's a little bit ironic that a business that doesn't pay property taxes is recommending the sustainment of an ordinance which dampens the ability of some of us who are property taxpayers to run a business and pay our taxes,” said Craig Campbell, who owns Campbell Steele Gallery.

But one resident who spoke in opposition to the change said that's not a fair comparison.

“We contribute to the community in so many other ways than by paying taxes,” said C.J. McDonald, a teacher who attends First United Methodist Church. “I pay a good portion of my salary to contribute not only to my church but to my community.”

McDonald and at least 10 others urged the council not to approve the changes. They said such a move would bring in more bars whose patrons would clutter neighborhoods and endanger children who attend the schools and churches.

“There's not a lack of availability of alcohol, and I don't think we want to say as a city that what we really are missing downtown is a place to go and drink alcohol,” said Daren Ulmer, pastor at Community Baptist Church.

But most of the council members said the ordinance is outdated, and changing it is important for bolstering the city's Uptown District.

“My point is that society has changed,” council member Steve Sprague said. “But we've kept our ordinance the same as it was in the 1960s when the captain of police was having to roll up drunk people on Friday night.”

The first reading of the amendment passed 6-1, with Craig Adamson dissenting. Two more votes are required before it's officially approved.