Bell : Longer Alcohol-Permit Ban

The City Council Monday extended a 45-day moratorium on alcoholic-beverage permits to give its staff time to study possible code changes to prevent a concentration of liquor outlets.

The council stopped issuing permits in October because there was concern about a proliferation of businesses with liquor licenses in the city, Councilman Ray Johnson said.

“The council would like to look at this” more closely, Johnson said, noting that the issue came up when a church group protested issuance of a permit to a meat store on Gage Avenue. Although the permit was issued, the city banned further permits to see “what kind of code changes, if any, are needed,” Johnson said.

The moratorium will be extended for 10 months and 15 days.