CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -- A Jacksonville court ruled Tuesday to uphold Clay County ordinances restricting alcohol sales.
Those ordinances prevent venues that sell alcohol from opening on Wells Road and requiring lounges already there to close by 2016.
The court granted the summary judgement two establishments located on the road in question brought two federal constitutional challenges.
The court ruled in favor of Clay County, saying the ordinances "did not violate Plaintiffs' procedural or substantive due process rights."
One of the ordinances will restrict the hours lounges can sell alcohol on Wells Road, cutting sales off at 11 p.m.
The second ordinance will prevent any new lounges from popping up on Wells Road. Additionally all existing lounges will have to cease operations in May of 2016.
The court cited the "commercial character" of Wells Road and the high cost of maintaining a police presence in the area as the reasoning behind its decision. The county contended there was an increased criminal element in the area near the lounges.
According to the court ruling, "there is a logical correlation between the sale and distribution of alcohol during the early morning hours, and the influx of crime, noise, and vehicular infractions in the area where the alcohol is sold."
First Coast News