Council Gives ‘Total Wine’ Total Approval

The Alpharetta City Council approved a controversial liquor store in the North Point Mall area at last week’s meeting.

At issue was the application of an upscale liquor store called “Total Wine and More.” This business, which calls itself the largest independent liquor chain in the country, applied to open a store in North Point Mall, across from the Cheesecake Factory restaurant. Approval by Alpharetta City Council required a change to the North Point master plan. This raised a red flag for at least one Alpharetta Councilman, Doug DeRito, as well as several concerned citizens who showed up at City Hall to rail against the retailer’s approval due its proximity to the mall proper and all the families that patronize it.

Even more concerning was that the issue had already been settled once before, at the June 15 meeting. That decision went against Total Wine. It was revisited, not through any particular desire of Council, but because, after having their proposal rejected, Total Wine sued the City, charging that proper procedure was not followed. They claimed the legal advertisement was only shown 14 days before the meeting instead of the required 15. They agreed to drop the lawsuit so long as they got another chance to present their case before the Council. That chance came last week.

The problem with the previous hearing was that one councilmember, Cheryl Oakes, was absent, leaving six members (including the mayor) to vote. At that hearing the Council nixed the application in a tied vote, which counted as a denial. The second time around, every councilmember was present, as were a cadre of citizens who spoke out against approval.

Despite lengthy presentations from Total Wine CEO David Trone, Total Wine’s lawyer and a representative from the Mimms Investment Company, the owner of the building Total Wine wishes to be located, Council was little impressed.

“Nothing substantive has changed since I last heard the arguments,” said Councilman John Monson, who voted against the application last time.

Total Wine and More calls itself a “high-end” liquor store, aimed at serving a wealthy, upscale class of customer – as Tome said, “the Alpharetta customer.” It prides itself on stringent ID checks and clean, well-lit stores. No minors are allowed into the stores without the accompaniment of a parent or guardian, and minors are absolutely never allowed to buy anything from the store, even if it were a soda or candy bar.

Those against the application mostly argued against the location, being near the family recreational areas of the mall. The city’s master plan does not allow for such proximity and changing it is a major step just for one store, they argued.

Those in favor of the application countered that, during the same meeting when the original application was denied, immediately after that was a similar item on the agenda with a massage and nail parlor asking for a change to a master plan to allow it into the area it wanted. That item was passed. So, the argument went, what was so special about a nail parlor that warranted a change to the master plan when a liquor store did not?

According to Total Wine, master plans are made to be flexible and are not written in stone.

In the end, Councilman Doug DeRito motioned to again deny the application, saying, “I just don’t think that’s a proper use within the North Point Mall area… it is a family environment.” Monson and Jim Paine concurred, and they based the core of their opposition on a reluctance to change the master plan.

Councilman David Belle Isle hit back with another motion, this one to approve the application.

“When is it okay for us to help business and when is it not okay for us to interfere? Some decisions need to be made at the consumer level,” he said, adding that the mall area is the most secure area in the city. Children and minors would not be hanging out by the liquor store as some had contended. A bigger risk to the community is a restaurant serving alcohol to a patron and then letting them drive home, which is how Councilman D.C. Aiken came to support approval, as he did last time.

“Alcohol is alcohol,” Aiken said. “We have people up here saying it’s okay to have a couple beers and get in a vehicle. It’s okay. It’s safe… [but] any way you look at it, they consumed alcohol and get behind [the wheel] of a vehicle… but to buy a case or a bottle of wine and take it home is not okay?” He added that the liquor sales in Total Wine would be no different than the sales of a supermarket, which, he added, are near neighborhoods, not malls.

Mayor Arthur Letchas joined with the side approving the application, as he did previously. And, sealing the decision so did Oakes.

The approval of Total Wine and More was given in a 4-3 vote.

Libraries Supported
Council also entertained a resolution expressing support for the Fulton County Library Board in their bond referendum that is on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The bond’s $275 million would be used to refurbish and build libraries throughout the county – including new libraries for East Roswell and Milton – as well as a brand new 30,000 square foot library for Alpharetta.

“Fulton County supported us, so I’m willing to support them,” said Paine, who introduced the resolution and has been active in securing Alpharetta’s new library. “Up until six months ago they were considering renovating our 10,000 square foot library instead of giving us a new library.”

Belle Isle pointed out that the cost for construction of the new library would be about 9 percent of the total bond, and he’s happy with that, as Alpharetta’s library accounts for about 10 percent of the total system-wide usage.

The resolution was approved unanimously.