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The LaGrange city council held its second and final readings to amend two city ordinances Tuesday night.

The council amended the city’s alcoholic beverages ordinance to require that alcohol license applicants demonstrate compliance with state distance requirements.

The 100-yard distance allowed in this ordinance will remain the same, City Manager Meg Kelsey explained, but the way it’s enforced will be changed.

The city will now require that a survey be submitted to demonstrate that compliance with businesses.

The city’s current ordinance states that “no person shall knowingly or intentionally sell or offer to sell beer or malt beverages within one hundred (100) yards of an alcoholic treatment center owned and operated by the State of Georgia, by Troup County or by the city of LaGrange.”

The ordinance includes school and college grounds and church buildings.

Current alcohol license holders are exempt from this requirement.

The council’s additional approved a decision to amend the city’s sidewalk cafe ordinance.  This change will authorize the use of additional equipment and furnishings outside of traditional tables and chairs for inner-city businesses, allowing the city to spearhead more “streetscaping” in the area.

Potentially, businesses could add gas lanterns, benches, fire pits and other amenities to their storefronts, Kelsey said.

The city would lease these materials to businesses in a 25-year lease, which the council also approved. The budget for this project would be roughly $350,000 and may begin next spring.