Internet cafes will now be regulated in the city through zoning and privilege license fees.
With Greg Lawson and Carl Ferebee absent tonight, council voted 3-0 to adopt land use amendments and set privilege license fees for the establishments.
Enforcement of the new regulations will begin immediately, Planning and Development Director Amanda Jarratt told council at its meeting and the eight existing establishments will have 180 days to limit the number of machines to 20. They must also set operating hours of 10 a.m. to midnight.
Council based the operating hours on a presentation from police Chief Jeff Hinton, who said in a report there have been around 75 calls to the establishments in the city since they first began operating.
Those calls include armed robbery, fights, reports of suspicious people and vehicle vandalism, Hinton said. “With time limits, I think a business is more likely to be robbed at 2 a.m. than 2 p.m. There’s more unsavory characters around.”
Other regulations in the land use ordinance include:
• 500 feet from any residence or residential zoning district.
• 1,000 feet from any church, religious institution, day care center, public or private schools, public park or playground, public library, cemetery, video arcade or theater which shows G or PG movies regularly.
• 1,000 feet away from any existing electronic gaming operation, tattoo and body piercing establishment or adult and sexually oriented business.
• The machines or terminals must not be prohibited by state or federal law and must have applicable licenses and permits.
• No alcoholic beverages may be served or consumed on the premises.
The proposal also addresses parking with a requirement of 1.5 parking spaces for every two electronic gaming machines plus one space for each employee on shift of greatest employment.
Later in the meeting council addressed the privilege license fee, setting the yearly fee at $1,000 for the first five machines and an additional $300 per machine.
In other matters tonight council:
• Approved an amended special use request from Victory Baptist Church after a public hearing and lengthy discussion. Since council approved the original special use permit the church acquired an additional 2.4 acres of land on property proposed for its Family Life Center.
Debate ranged for privacy to storm water drainage with council finally approving the request and requiring the church to put fencing around the north end of the property and other buffer along the southern side.
• Agreed to place more speed limits signs on River Road North and South but leave speed limits the same. A stop sign will be placed at the intersection of River Road East and River Road North.
