Council Adopts Alcohol Control Ordinance

CENTRAL — The Central City Council unanimously adopted an Alcohol Control Ordinance at Tuesday’s Council meeting.  The ordinance provides the city’s first-ever control on the selling and dispensing of alcoholic beverages.

Central incorporated as a city on July 11, 2005, and the Parish ABC Board has enforced parishwide alcohol ordinances in the City of Central since then.  However, the recent approval by the Metro Council of more lax ABC standards led the Parish Attorney to review parish ordinances and conclude that the Parish ABC Board had no power in Central unless the Council passed an ordinance.  David Barrow, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Central, said the Mayor and Council wanted to be sure that the city has laws in place to control alcohol sales.  Otherwise, there would be no controls on the books, Barrow said.

The Metro Council recently voted to allow bars to sell alcohol on Sunday and to allow all other businesses that sell alcohol to begin selling at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, instead of 11 a.m.

However, the Central ordinance keeps in place the law previously in effect parishwide.  As a result, the restrictions on Sunday sales in Central will be as follows:

• Bars will not be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday.

• Restaurants (at least 51 percent of their revenue must come from food) may sell alcohol after 11 a.m. on Sunday.

• Convenience stores and supermarkets may sell packaged liquor beginning at 11 a.m. on Sundays.

Barrow said the Parish ABC Board will administer Central’s new ordinance, and all fees collected in Central will be retained by the Parish ABC Board for its cost of administration.