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After months of discussion, LaGrange is finally taking the first official step to regulate the location of package stores within the city. 

During the mayor and council meeting on Tuesday, the city held a first reading for an ordinance that will require a minimum distance between retail package stores (liquor stores) and residential properties.

The proposed ordinance states, “No license shall be issued for a package store where the place of business of the applicant is located within seven hundred fifty (750 feet) of a private residence.”

For distance measurements, the distance will be measured along the most direct route of travel as measured from the front door of the licensed premises to the nearest  property line used as a private residence.

The ordinance also prohibits the permitting of a package store within 600 feet of a daycare facility. 

A second first reading was also held for a separate ordinance that would limit new package stores to Activity Center Mixed-Use (AC-MX) zoning designations.

The new ordinances would not affect current package stores within the city, which would be grandfathered into older regulations. The grandfathered permitting will also be transferred to subsequent owners, so long as the locations do not lapse being a package store for more than 12 months.

The proposed ordinances stop short of initially suggested regulations that would have limited the total number of package stores within the city.