Letter To The Editor – Jan. 15, 2015

Dear Editor,
    Water Valley’s new anti-business beer ordinance has many, many problems. Let’s take just one of the 24 sections in the ordinance (the last beer ordinance had 14).
    SIGNAGE. The new ordinance forbids any beer sign that is visible from the street. If a storekeeper has a case of Bud stacked inside the store where it’s visible from the street, that’s a violation and the license can be pulled. That’s a quick and easy way to put a beer business out of business.
    Water Valley already has a strict sign ordinance. It prohibits, for example, giant pennants, streamers, and the like from flapping in the breeze. The ordinance spells out what is legal and what is not, in terms of size, location, and lighting, regardless of the content of the sign.
    If the City is going to make product-specific sign regulations, why not prohibit street-visible signs for tobacco products or for super-sized sugar drink? Is singling out beer a moral issue? Back in 2007, three out four Water Valley voters didn’t think beer was immoral when they voted to legalize it during the county-wide vote.
    Mayor Hart, when he was requested to change the sign rules by local restaurant owner Justin Showah, responded “This was the original ordinance, you’re asking a group that did not style that. . . . I feel like that was probably discussed, and the previous council under the legal counsel of David Burns came to the this conclusion. And I think that’s sufficient for what we need to do here.”
     Wrong. The current board has the authority to repeal the provision. In fact, reviewing and updating existing ordinances is part of what we pay them for.
    This new beer ordinance imposes one group’s moral values on a diverse community. That community has already expressed its views on beer where it counts, at the ballot box. It is time to get rid of this ordinance and at the same time bring a common sense and business-friendly approach to Water Valley government. Please write, call, or email the mayor and your alderman.
Best regards,
Cliff Lawson