Liquor store licenses will remain uncapped in Huntingdon, after the council rejected Ordinance 650 on the second reading.
The ordinance passed its first reading at November’s meeting with only one dissenting vote.
News of the vote drew public criticism.
Area resident Cyril Ostiguy addressed the council beforehand, and urged them to reject the ordinance.
“In the November 2, 2018 referendum, 61.3 percent of the voters in Huntingdon voted in favor to allow retail package stores,” Ostiguy told the council. “Now you want to take away a third of the licenses—a license that voters voted for.”
Ostiguy said the ordinance conflicted with the original intent of the referendum and framed the issue as one of opportunity and individual rights rather than personal interest.
“It won’t be my pursuit of happiness to open a package store in Huntingdon, but it may be another’s,” he said. “Your powers are derived from the consent of the governed, and the governed voted for liquor stores.”
When the ordinance came to a vote, every council member voted against it.
Other Ordinances
Passed on the second reading:
Ordinance 647 changes zoning regulations to allow residential units in certain downtown commercial buildings.
Ordinance 648 rezones a portion of the James Realty (Cash Saver) property into a business district.
Ordinance 649 eases distance requirements in business districts as they relate to beer sales.
Ordinance 651 revises the town’s employee probationary policy.
Passed on the first reading:
Ordinance 652 establishes zoning regulations for specialty smoke and vape shops, defining them as retail businesses with more than 25 percent of floor space devoted to tobacco, vaping, or similar products and allowing them only in B-2 districts with distance requirements from schools, churches, daycares, and other smoke or vape shops.
Ordinance 653 amends the municipal code to formally set Department of Finance and Administration office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. It also adjusts water reconnection fees based on whether service is restored during or outside regular business hours.
Water Bill Adjustments
The council also approved water bill adjustments for the Huntingdon Housing Authority and a residential customer following documented leaks, citing established precedent for catastrophic water loss situations.
Both bills were adjusted down from around $1,800 to $250.
