Winter Park Considers Repealing Sunday Alcohol Sales Restriction · the32789

An ordinance allowing sales and services to begin at 7 a.m. every weekday is on the agenda for the commission’s July 24 meeting. Photo by: Jim Carchidi

Sunday breakfast on Park Avenue could soon include alcohol service. At their next meeting, city commissioners will hear the first reading of an ordinance that would prohibit the sale, consumption and service of alcoholic beverages between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. every weekday. The St. Patrick’s Day allowance for service ending at 2 a.m. would be maintained under the new ordinance.

The current 11 a.m. Sunday sales start time dates back to the state’s blue laws, which were intended to restrict alcohol sales on a day of worship. The schedule allows for brunch service, but licensed breakfast restaurants, such as First Watch and Briarpatch on Park Avenue, can offer all-day service. The move to a 7 a.m. Sunday start time would also benefit supermarket and convenience store customers who shop in the early hours of the week or for Sunday afternoon events. Tampa lifted its Sunday restrictions in January 2021, just in time for the city to host the Super Bowl.

The first reading of the ordinance will be heard on Wednesday, July 24, and the commissioners will vote definitively at the following meeting, on August 14.

The city commission will also continue hearings on the 2025 city budget Wednesday and set the interim tax rate. A mill is equal to $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of assessed value on a property, and commissioners set the annual rate at the start of budget negotiations. The figure can be changed to increase funding as the plan evolves, but the current rate of 4.0923 has been in place since 2009.

Winter Park’s 25-year strategic plan contains $126 million in potential projects with no identified funding sources. If the commission decides to raise the tax rate by a quarter-point, the city could gain an additional $2.2 million in annual property tax revenue. As with all commission meetings, residents can attend in person or online and provide input during public comment.

The full meeting agenda and registration for virtual access are available at cityofwinterpark.org/meetings.