Middle Claims 6th Liquor License; Tavern Owners Voice Opposition

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Committee adopted an ordinance March 19 that Mayor Michael Clark said: “Puts a sixth liquor license on the books.” 
The action by the township only adds the license to the municipal ordinance.  The committee made no decision on putting the license out to bid.
“We were entitled to this license on the basis of the 2010 census,” Clark said. “I don’t know why past administrations did not do anything about that,” he added.
Deputy Mayor Jeffrey DeVico said the township only found out about the extra license “when we were calling the state about the new breweries.”
The plenary retail consumption license is the sixth one in the township.  According to ex-mayor Daniel Lockwood, the five licenses already sold include The Bellevue Tavern, Atkinson’s, Rio Station, a shared license between the Avalon Country Club and the Country Club Tavern, and lastly Menz Restaurant.
Township Solicitor Frank Corrado said the plenary licenses are awarded by the state based on population, one per 3,000 residents. The measure of population is the decennial census. 
In the 2010 census, the township’s population grew from 16,405 in 2000 to 18,911. That growth entitled the municipality to a sixth license.
Current license owners have argued against issuing the license, saying that the year-round population is too small to support another license.
At a committee meeting in October, both Lou Altobelli, of Atkinson’s, and Dennis Roberts, of the Bellevue, urged caution.
For this meeting that adopted the ordinance placing the license on the books, concern was once again expressed about another license in the township.
Jay Menz, of Menz Restaurant, raised the issue of the competition from breweries. “They don’t have to pay $500,000 for a license, and they are popping up on every corner,” he said.
Menz raised a public safety concern with so many establishments selling alcoholic beverages. He said he has an investment to protect and his staff watches how much a customer drinks.
“With the breweries popping up everywhere, I’m concerned. I don’t want to be on the roads,” he said.
Ed Dillio, a Court House resident, rose to “offer a different opinion.” Dillio said the township should move quickly to reap the financial benefit of a new license and earmark the funds for some project that provides ongoing benefit to the residents. “Menz is a good place, and they will be fine,” he said.
Corrado pointed to the growth of breweries, wineries, and distilleries, noting that those other types of establishments represent outlets that have grown so fast that “the laws have not caught up yet.”
In response to Menz, Corrado said that there is little that the township can do to regulate outlets like breweries.
“They are covered by state law and do not need township approval,” he said.
He added that the township might be able to influence breweries and similar outlets through zoning regulations, but he was not optimistic.
Corrado pointed to a recent municipality’s inability to sustain an ordinance that banned the sale of medical, or eventually recreational, marijuana. 
The township has put the license in its ordinance permitting a future sale or auction. Clark said there were no plans to sell the license.
“This is only about recording a license we are entitled to,” he said.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.