Atlanta City Council Adopts Legislation to Address Alcohol License Compliancy and Nuisance Properties

Atlanta City Council Adopts Legislation to Address Alcohol License Compliancy and Nuisance Properties

 

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council approved legislation during Monday’s meeting to amend the City’s Code of Ordinances to clarify alcohol license requirements for reporting food and alcohol sales at annual renewal and update the mandatory penalties for due cause findings of violations (Legislative Reference No. 21-O-0059). The legislation aims to address nuisance properties and activities that are considered threats to public health and safety and ensure that establishments licensed as restaurants are operating in accordance with license requirements.

Legislation was adopted during the Council’s meeting on Dec. 7, 2020 to establish annual alcohol audits on a sample of establishments to review business records and ensure compliance with the City’s alcohol license requirements (Legislative Reference No. 20-O-1741).

The Council also adopted legislation to require a minimum of 33 percent of net revenue collected for school zone speed camera enforcement remitted to the City be used toward surveillance cameras and license plate readers citywide and that a minimum of 33 percent of fund allocations be used toward constructing or improving the City’s Public Safety Training facility (Legislative Reference No. 21-O-0020). The ordinance is companion legislation to a resolution adopted during the Council’s Jan. 19 meeting to approve an agreement with Atlanta Public Schools for the School Bus Stop-Arm Camera Enforcement Program and authorize the collection and sharing of fines resulting from offenses (Legislative Reference No. 21-R-3005).

Other items approved on Monday include:

• An ordinance authorizing the mayor or her designee to abandon a portion of Capitol Square SW located between Washington Street and Capitol Avenue, execute a quitclaim deed of the abandonment to the state of Georgia, and waive Sections 138-9 and 2-1578 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances (Legislative Reference No. 21-O-0056).

•  A resolution to express support for the strategy of the Centers for Disease Control’s public health approach to violence which is characterized by its emphasis on prevention and its strong conviction that violent behavior and its consequences can be prevented over time and to express support for the CDC’s strategy to build and strengthen partnerships with the public and private sectors and at all levels of government to effectively address the multiple forms of violence (Legislative Reference No. 21-R-3038).

• A resolution requesting that the chief judges of the Superior Courts of Fulton and DeKalb counties share information with the City of Atlanta on how they have adapted court functions to resume operations with the COVID-19 challenges (Legislative Reference No. 21-R-3039).

• A resolution to establish the City of Atlanta Alcohol Technical Advisory Group III (ATAG III) to make recommendations to implement the ATAG II report, evaluate the City’s Alcohol Code and licensing requirements, and make recommendations to the Council on what additional changes may be warranted (Legislative Reference No. 21-R-3040).

• A resolution authorizing the City to apply for and accept a grant in an amount not to exceed $1 million per year for up to five years from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assist high-risk youth and families and promote resilience and equity in communities that have recently faced civil unrest (Legislative Reference No. 21-R-3037).

• An ordinance to amend the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances to repeal the requirement that prospective employees who are not applying for employment in safety sensitive positions undergo a post-employment offer physical examination or a drug test (Legislative Reference No. 21-O-0046).

• A resolution authorizing an agreement with Gordon Huether + Partners Inc. to create the Eternal Flame Memorial Monument dedicated to Atlanta’s Missing Children pursuant to the City’s Art Master Plan in an amount not to exceed $280,000 (Legislative Reference No. 20-R-4756).

• An ordinance to suspend provisions of the City’s Code of Ordinances to waive the late filing fees, penalties and sanctions that may be assessed for failure to renew licenses for the sale of alcohol by January 1, 2021 (Legislative Reference No. 21-O-0008). The fees would be waived through Dec. 31, 2021.

Legislation was introduced to be considered in committee next week, including:

• A resolution to urge the Georgia Department of Public Health to revise the 1A+ population designation within the Georgia Immunization Program to include the full set of essential workers identified by the Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and to urge every eligible person to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

•  A resolution to request that the chief financial officer conduct a study to determine the feasibility of creating a new water bottling and distribution municipal enterprise that will generate revenue for the City without placing further strain on the City’s tax base while creating a workforce development program to create middle-wage jobs.

• An ordinance to amend Charter Subpart A, Article 6, Chapter 3, Section 6-315 (b) Subsection (3) of the City’s Code of Ordinances for the purpose of increasing the 3.5 percent appropriation of the City of Atlanta general budget for the Public Infrastructure Maintenance and Improvement Account to 5 percent to ensure adequate annual funding for routine maintenance, repair and replacement of public infrastructure.

• A resolution encouraging establishments who hire off-duty officers to employ officers from within their original territorial jurisdiction to ensure that officers who are hired will have the jurisdictional authority to make arrests when necessary.

• A resolution to expand the boundaries of the Fulton Industrial Community Improvement District as authorized by the Georgia General Assembly in the Fulton County Community Improvement District Act.

• A resolution to urge the City of Atlanta to work with the Environmental Protection Division of the state of Georgia and/or the Georgia General Assembly to determine if there is a manner to address the environmental nuisance of gas-powered leaf blowers.

• A resolution authorizing the mayor or her designee in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 2-1187 of the City of Atlanta’s Code of Ordinances to direct the City of Atlanta Department of Procurement to initiate a process to secure proposals from qualified vendors for the implementation of automated school zone speed enforcement programs as authorized by OCGA 40-14-18.

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