Nimby-ism on Savannah City Council? Members owe explanation on alcohol license votes

This is the City Talk column by Bill Dawers, a longtime contributor to the Savannah Morning News.

The first Savannah City Council meeting of 2023 began with a series of ceremonial presentations that drew smiles and applause, but the comity did not last long.

The nine council members quickly approved five alcohol licenses in District 2, which includes much of the downtown area and is represented by Alderman Detric Leggett. One of those licenses was for the new restaurant Pizza Party, which will open this year in a former seafood market at Habersham and East Duffy streets. The nearby uses are largely residential, but there were no objections to the new license noted during the hearing.

And then council considered Brittany N. O’Neal’s application for an alcohol license for the planned Cru Lounge at 1639 E. Victory Dr. in District 3, which is represented by Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan.

O’Neal also appeared before council last summer in an attempt to get an alcohol license for Cru, an Atlanta-based chain that has 13 existing locations and about 20 other locations identified as “coming soon” on the corporate website.

Last summer’s hearing highlighted the deep divisions and personal ill will among council members. As I detailed in a column, someone started breathing heavily into a microphone as Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter spoke on behalf of granting the license. The disruption, which fit a pattern from previous meetings, might have been intended to rankle Gibson-Carter but turned out to be a blatant show of disrespect to O’Neal and her lawyers.

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What is behind the objections to Cru and the license?

Before the vote last summer, Wilder-Bryan made it clear that she would never support Cru’s presence in her district. She and other council members raised objections about parking and noise, which are supposed to be addressed at other steps in the business approval processes. The license was denied by a vote of 6 to 3, with Alderwomen Alicia Miller Blakely and Bernetta Lanier joining Gibson-Carter to support the license.

O’Neal’s application was denied again at last week’s meeting, but the vote was 5 to 4 this time. In a curious plot twist, Mayor Van Johnson supported the alcohol license for Cru, as did the three alderwomen who voted in favor last summer.

It might turn out to have been a good political move for Johnson to align himself, even just on one contentious vote, with the minority group on council, but he should have explained his vote and encouraged members of the majority to reconsider their positions as well.

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With little discussion, four council members joined Wilder-Bryan in voting against the alcohol license, even though O’Neal had met all requirements and had taken extra steps to make her case, such as detailing the parking requirements.

How do you define a double-standard?

In effect, four council members have indicated that they will support Wilder-Bryan anytime she objects to a new bar or restaurant moving into her district, even on a commercial corridor like Victory Drive.

What if Leggett had objected to the five licenses that were approved earlier in the meeting? Should council members simply support the representative from the district in question no matter what?

Before the license hearing ended, Miller Blakely said that Wilder-Bryan has a “personal vendetta” against Black-owned businesses. Johnson interrupted to say that Miller Blakely’s comment was inappropriate, and Wilder-Bryan denied any bias.

The council meetings for the remainder of the year are going to be dotted with similar exchanges. The mayoral contest might attract most of the attention in the next few months, but several aldermanic races could become even more personal and contentious.

Along the way, voters need to keep their eyes on important policy questions.

And it’s certainly fair to ask why some applicants for alcohol licenses are scrutinized in ways that others are not.

Contact Dawers via @billdawers on Twitter and by email at CityTalkSavannah@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Alcohol licensing process on Savannah City Council underscore division