Hoover council likely to delay vote on beer and wine sales at Carmike theaters
The Hoover City Council likely on Tuesday will postpone a vote on whether to allow Carmike Motion Pictures to sell beer and wine at its theaters in Patton Creek and The Village at Lee Branch.
A Carmike representative asked the council to delay its vote until Feb. 6 because company officials were unable to be present at this past Thursday’s work session of the City Council.
The proposal has stirred debate in the Hoover community. Some people say they would like the opportunity to drink beer and wine while watching a movie, but others argue it’s an inappropriate setting because of the high concentration of children and youth at movie theaters.
Former Hoover school board member Joe Dean last week wrote a letter to the mayor and City Council, expressing concern and dismay over the idea and saying he strongly opposes it.
“Alcohol is a drug. It is a central nervous system depressant. Beverage alcohol is recognized as a 'gateway' drug to other dangerous chemicals prone to abuse,” wrote Dean, who is a former pharmacist and retired pharmacy dean from Samford University. “Yes, beverage alcohol is also a part of the contemporary social scene and enjoyed (in moderation) by adults. Yet, it is dangerous enough that Federal and State laws are enacted to prohibit or restrict its use and distribution.”
Youth tend to pattern their behaviors after adults, good or bad, Dean wrote. “Making beverage alcohol available in movie theaters, where youth tend to aggregate in a presumably safe social setting, is crossing the line of adult responsibility,” he wrote. “How can adults rationalize this? Surely not as an economic ‘benefit’ to the community.”
People would buy beer and wine at only one cash register, each person receiving a drink would have to show proper ID and consumption of alcoholic beverages would not be allowed at the tables in the lobby/arcade area.
Aaron Bowen, the Birmingham area manager for Carmike, said his company would like the city to reconsider the restriction against consuming beverages at the tables in the lobby and arcade area because if a customer's movie is not ready to start, there is nowhere else to drink.
However, Bowen said the company is willing to limit beer and wine sales to the main concession stand and will issue wristbands to everyone who shows proper ID to receive an alcoholic beverage. That way, people can know who is legally allowed to consume an alcoholic beverage and who is not, he said.
Beer and wine would be in containers distinct from other drinks, and each alcohol container will hold no more than 16 ounces of beer or 9 ounces of wine, according to the restrictions passed by the planning commission. However, there is no limit on the number of alcoholic beverages an individual may purchase.
More than 330 people participated in a Hoover Sun survey on the issue, and as of Monday afternoon, 190 people (or 57 percent) were in favor of allowing Carmike to sell beer and wine, while 142 (or 43 percent) were against it. The online poll is still open here.
Addition to Blackridge
The Hoover City Council also on Tuesday is expected to delay a public hearing on Signature Homes’ request to add 108 acres to the Blackridge development at the end of Stadium Trace Parkway.
The additional land would not increase the number of houses allowed in Blackridge. That would still be 1,150 houses, including 650 houses on the 808 acres being developed by Signature Homes and 500 houses on the 823 acres being developed by Riverwoods Holdings. Read more about the Signature Homes request here.
The council will decide Tuesday whether to delay that public hearing until March 6.
Items set for a vote on Tuesday night include:
- Rezoning 6.5 acres at 4670 Valleydale Road from a Shelby County agricultural district to a Hoover C-2 community business district to make way for a gasoline station and convenience store and a small strip shopping center next to the Jefferson State Community College Shelby-Hoover campus. Read more about that request here.
- Approval of a clubhouse, pool and park in the first phase of the Lake Wilborn sector of Trace Crossings.
- Annexaton of two vacant residential parcels on Strollaway Drive.
- Approval of an agreement between the city of Hoover, CSX Transportation and Blackridge Partners regarding a bridge over a CSX railroad track. Tim Westhoven, the city’s chief operations officer, said the agreement basically obligates the city to take over maintenance of the bridge once it is built by the developer.
- A proposed contract with Diversified to supply and install an audio-visual system at the new 155,000-square-foot Finley Center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex. City staff is recommending the council reject the bid and authorize the mayor to negotiate a lower price because Diversified was the only bidder for the job. The proposed price for the work the city is seeking was $440,829.
Tuesday's City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the William J. Billingsley Council Chambers at the Hoover Municipal Center at 100 Municipal Lane. See the full agenda here.