Alpharetta OKs liquor store outside North Point Mall

A "beverage superstore" planned for the former CompUSA store near North Point Mall gained approval from Alpharetta City Council Monday night in a repeat of a public hearing first heard in June.

A tie vote last summer and a lawsuit brought by the rezoning applicant, Total Wine & More, led to the new hearing. As at least one point under protest appeared to be a problem - the public notice was advertised only 14 days in advance of the summer hearing, rather than the required minimum of 15 days - City Attorney Sam Thomas proposed council hold a new hearing provided the lawsuit was dropped no matter what the result of the new hearing.

Councilwoman Cheryl Oakes provided the deciding vote, having been absent from the summer meeting because of a family medical emergency.

"Times change and uses change. I think we have to be cognizant of that change and forward thinking," she said in support of fellow Councilman David Belle Isle's motion to approve Total Wine & More's application.

At issue was the perception of several council members and city residents that a liquor store has no place so close to North Point Mall. Another point made by Councilmen Doug DeRito, John Monson and Jim Paine was that the North Point Master Plan should not be changed to meet the business needs of an applicant.

"I think the mall master plan over the years has served us well," Paine said.

Councilman D.C. Aiken – and the applicant's attorney, Don Rolader - said the council has amended the plan in the past. Most recently a hair salon within the same area was allowed to add massage therapy to the master plan.

Community Development Director Diana Wheeler told council the application met the six criteria for a conditional use permit.

She said setting a precedent was not an issue as several restaurants up and down North Point Parkway and the Cheesecake Factory, which is just across the mall's ring road, serve alcohol. Planning Commission had recommended approval.

Michele Del Monaco of Mimms Enterprises, which owns the property, said many months were spent to find a long-term tenant of quality for the site. The 20,450 square feet of space is too big for the "mom and pop" retailers which constitute 95 percent Mimms' tenants.

Had its application in Alpharetta failed, company CEO David Trone said the store likely would have leased a site at The Avenue Forsyth several exits north on Ga. 400.

"The Alpharetta location is the spot that we would like to be in the [Ga.] 400 corridor. The demographics in Alpharetta are perfect," Trone said.

Greg Smith of Alpharetta was among the residents speaking in opposition to the application. A lot of talk was made about spirits, as in alcohol, he said.

"What we are talking about is the spirit of Alpharetta," he said in urging council to deny the store.

Belle Isle, in making his motion to approve the master plan amendment and conditional use permit, saw two issues at stake: When is it OK for council to help business, and when is it not OK for council to interfere with business?

Councilman D.C. Aiken backed the motion. Council can't be arbitrary in approving master plan amendments for one business and not others, he said.

"And so I've got to look at alcohol. To me, alcohol is alcohol," he said.

Opponents of the package store draw a distinction between liquor stores and restaurants.

"Any way you look at it, they consumed alcohol and got behind the wheel of a vehicle," Aiken said.

With that line of thinking, drinking and driving was OK, but buying a case of beer or wine and taking it home was not, he said.

At the same time, people who are 21 or older can go to the Publix or Kroger grocery store and buy wine or beer.

"Publix and Kroger are in our neighborhoods, not at the mall," Aiken said.
- www.northfulton.com

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