Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 15
Will You Sign for More Drinks? • Prospects Brighten for Batteries Facility • Veterans Memorial Likely Headed to Plaza • Coppell ISD Adding More Music Classes
Will You Sign for More Drinks?
The City Council was briefed last week on what they can do to loosen alcohol rules in Coppell. To put it simply, not much.
City Secretary Ashley Owens explained that local option elections “are citizen-driven; they are citizen-led. There is nothing City Council can do to call the election.”
This topic was on the council’s most recent agenda because alcohol was the predominant theme during their “community conversation” about Old Town in late March. (See “Old Town Coppell May Get Wetter” in Vol. 3, No. 6.) Earlier during Tuesday’s meeting, the council was briefed on the results of a survey about Old Town, which indicated a portion of respondents would like to see more nightlife in that part of Coppell.
Owens explained that a local option election must start with an application for a petition, which would need the signatures of 10 Coppell residents who are registered voters. Once the application is received, the organizers would have 60 days to gather enough signatures to trigger an election. That threshold is 35 percent of the city’s registered voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election. Owens estimated that would be a little more than 5,750 signatures.
Her office would then have 30 days to verify those signatures. Assuming they’re all valid, Owens would ask the City Council to schedule a vote for the next uniform election date, in either May or November.
Coppell’s most recent votes on alcohol happened in November 2006. Proposition 1, which allowed grocery stores to sell beer and wine, was supported by 68 percent of voters. Proposition 2, which allowed restaurants to sell mixed drinks, was supported by 77 percent of voters.
Although city elections are typically held in May, November elections with state and federal offices on the ballot usually have larger turnout.
“The strategy is, do you want to be the one to run for office when liquor’s on the ballot?” City Attorney Bob Hager said. “It used to be, back in the old days, when I first started practicing law, no one wanted to call that election for May, ’cause the Baptists would come out and defeat you if you were pro-liquor. And the attitude about that’s probably changed a lot.”
Chapter 501 of the Texas Election Code, “Local Option Elections on Sale of Alcoholic Beverages,” dictates the exact language that would appear on the ballot, depending on the scope of the petition. Owens explained the different types of local option elections, and she warned the council that a vote to legalize bars would also legalize liquor stores.
“It’s about whatever the citizens decide,” Council Member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith said. “They could actually open up Pandora’s box.”
Assuming voters approve changes to the city’s liquor laws, and it turns out to be a bad idea, Council Member John Jun asked what could be done to reverse that decision. Owens and Hager said the same process would have to start over, with a new application for a petition signed by 10 registered voters.
“If you want a vibrant nightlife, what do you envision that to be?” Hager said. “Then that may dictate what you’re willing to support or what you’re looking for.”
Prospects Brighten for Batteries Facility
The companies that want to a build a battery energy storage system in Coppell have cleared their first hurdle. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval by a vote of 5-1 last month.
As proposed, the battery energy storage system (BESS) would accumulate up to 9.9 megawatts of power during periods of low demand. This energy would be stored in lithium-ion batteries until needed, when it would flow back into the grid.