Geneva law change could put alcohol sales closer to churches

For nearly the last 40 years, pretty much nobody has been allowed to sell liquor within 100 feet of a church in Geneva.

That could change after Monday night, when the city council is expected to change local law to allow the sale of alcohol - as a secondary activity in restaurants, clubs and stores - near religious buildings.

Despite the concerns of one downtown church, the city council committee of the whole voted last week to support the measure. It comes as the new owners of a commercial/office building at 317 S. Third St., next to Geneva Lutheran Church, have potential tenants interested in opening restaurants or specialty food/wine shops. Geneva Lutheran is on the southeast corner of Third and Franklin streets.

In the summertime, the church sometimes opens its sanctuary windows during worship services, said church council President Jamieson Olsen. Since the sanctuary is only 20 feet from the 317 building, the council believes noise from a restaurant or store would disrupt services. In addition, the church often conducts activities for children on its front lawn, and noise could also disturb quiet contemplation in its Mothers Garden, on the southern edge of the property next to the 317 building.

The proposed law change would affect only downtown churches. There are no churches in outlying neighborhoods in or next to business districts.

St. Mark Episcopal Church at 320 Franklin St. initially supported the law change, but later told Ellen Divita, the city's economic development coordinator, it would defer to Geneva Lutheran's wishes. Three other downtown churches told Divita they didn't object to the law change, or didn't respond to her request for input.

Geneva liquor law prohibits on-premise consumption from 2 to 6 a.m. daily, and carryout sales before 10 a.m. on Sundays. During the summer, Geneva Lutheran has worship services at 5:30 p.m. Saturdays and 8 and 9:30 a.m. Sundays. The 9:30 service is conducted under a tent on the front lawn.

Even with the law change, businesses in the downtown district would need a special-use permit to sell alcohol whether or not they're near a church. Among criteria the city considers is whether the use would adversely affect the nearby properties or change the character of the area.

The new regulations would only apply to the distance between a business and the portion of a religious building used for worship or education. The language is taken from state liquor code.