Cumberland County Commission has set a new hard limit for beer permits, requiring a minimum of 100 feet between retailers and public gathering places like schools and churches.
County Commissioner and Beer Board Chairman Joe Sherrill said the county used to require a 2,000-foot distance between beer retailers and places of public gathering. But Sherrill said that the rule was written about 25 years ago. Over time, Sherrill said the county has granted numerous exceptions, issuing many permits well within that distance.
“We moved it down to a distance much smaller than the 2,000 feet, and so therefore our policies and procedures needed to reflect the new distances at which we had historically implemented permits,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill said officials recognize that schools and churches may still raise concerns about permit requests located that close to their properties. Sherrill said the county can still deny a beer permit even if an applicant meets the 100-foot distance requirement.
“They can still come and still essentially argue, and ultimately, the beer board would have the right to reject the permit if that argument stood on ground,” Sherrill said. “But what we don’t have the right to do anymore, we don’t have the right to reject a permit just because it’s close.”
Sherrill said he believes this move will make it easier for applicants to obtain a beer permit. Sherrill said the change may contribute to more beer permit requests.
“The county has been growing, so we are going to receive more permits just by the nature of the growth of Tennessee as a whole,” Sherrill said. “In terms of will it allow the beer permits to come closer to places that maybe historically they couldn’t, then yes, it will.”