Orange County could relax the rules when it comes to where alcohol vendors can set up shop. County commissioners will hear more Tuesday about a proposal that would affect alcohol sales in unincorporated areas—including I-Drive.
Right now, the county requires a minimum distance of 5,000 feet between vendors that sell packaged alcohol. Compare that to the City of Orlando, which has no distance requirement. So liquor stores can be right next to each other.
County staff is proposing easing the rules. New licensees would be able to set up shop 2,500 feet from other vendors. Existing licensees would get to move 1,250 feet away. Zoning Division Manager Carol Knox said they want to give established license holders the benefit.
“So if you have an existing license in Orange County and you wanted to move to a new location you would have the one 1,250 feet separation from another packaged sale vendor,” said Knox.
The county typically gets two to three alcohol licenses per year from the state.
County commissioners will discuss this proposal and figure out whether to move forward at their meeting Tuesday.