RUSTON, La. (KTVE/KARD) – The Ruston City Council has approved a resolution to put a ‘zoning code’ in place within city limits if all five alcohol propositions pass.
The unanimous vote took place Monday, March 6 during a regular meeting. If those propositions pass, they will allow the city to regulate the number of bars and where package liquor could be sold. Those areas will include three North and South streets and some connectors.
“The city council voted to make just a certain area, an entertainment district, if you will, where bars can go, but there are still restrictions even on top of that,” said mayor Ronny Walker.
Walker says once a bar is approved, another bar cannot be approved closer than 1,320 feet.
“If a bar wants to come in, it comes in as a conditional use, so it has to go to planning zoning anyways. So, we just put some safeguards in place,” said Walker.
The new regulations include sections such as I-20 on the North, Vienna and Bonner on the East, California on the South and connecting streets. Walker says packaged liquor can only be sold in retail stores of 15,000 square feet or bigger.
“We did not want 50 or 60 stores within our city packaged liquor. So, the building has to be 15,000 square feet, and they have to sell something besides just alcohol. You can’t just have a liquor store,” explained Walker.
These new regulations will go into effect if all five propositions pass. However, Walker says these rules will remain in place even if those propositions do not pass.
“We are very confident to say you can go and vote yes on all five of those propositions,” he added.
Early voting begins March 11 and runs through the 18. Election day is March 25.