(Pictured: Moorestown Field Club)
A dry town until 2011, Moorestown, N.J. then lifted its ban on the sale of alcohol but restricted the privilege to full-service restaurants in a Specially Restricted Commercial zoning district. The Moorestown Field Club then requested that the local ordinance be amended to also allow for Class C club licenses, which already exist elsewhere in the state. Being able to sell alcohol would “ensure the survival of the club,” said a representing attorney.
The city council of Moorestown, N.J. unanimously approved a proposed ordinance to allow Class C club licenses in the township that can be issued to a “corporation, association or organization that is non-profit and operating for benevolent, charitable, fraternal, social, religious, recreational, athletic or similar purposes,” the Moorestown Patch reported.
Moorestown was a dry town for nearly a century until 2011, according to a previous report in the Burlington County (N.J.) Times. Residents then voted to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol in the township, and also to allow its sale by full-service restaurants in a Specially Restricted Commercial (SRC) zoning district that encompassed a local mall.
A request was then made to the council in September by representatives from the Moorestown Field Club, a tennis and golf club that has been in the township for more than a century, to amend the existing ordinance to also allow for club licenses so the Field Club could sell alcohol on its premises, Moorestown Patch reported. The Field Club features a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, pickleball courts and a clubhouse that includes a dining room, sunroom, patio, lockers and a restaurant.
Having such a license would provide value to the membership and help to ensure the survival of the club, attorney Seth Broder said at the time, Moorestown Patch reported. While some members had always brought their own alcohol to the club, he noted, others would leave after playing golf to drink elsewhere. But having the license would allow the club to remain competitive with others in the area, Broder said.
“The club dates back to 1892, and we continue to be an asset to the town,” Broder said. “This is a way to give us control over our liability. We need it to be regulated, so we can enforce it.”
To obtain a Class C club license from New Jersey’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Broder said when making his request in September, an organization must be a 501(c) nonprofit, have 60 or more members, have been active for more than three years, and have a clubhouse for more than three years, the Burlington County Times reported.
And if a township neglects or refuses to amend its liquor ordinance, Broder added at the time, the state law allows for golf clubs and country clubs to obtain a special permit for selling alcohol directly from the state, the Times reported.
“The downside of that is that [the town] doesn’t have the ability to have oversight,” Broder said. “It’s the [Moorestown Field Club’s] intent to work with the township.”
The ability to sell alcohol at Moorestown Field Club would complement major renovations recently made to the club’s dining facility, Broder added, clarifying that the club was doing well financially.
“It’s to provide value to the membership and to ensure the survival of the club, while giving the township the ability to regulate the consumption and sale of alcohol at that premises,” Broder said. Allowing for the sale of alcohol would be the “final jewel of [our] club,” he added.
Township council members were supportive of the proposal when it was presented in September, the Times reported, with Moorestown Mayor Lisa Petriello saying, “I’m on board.”
But some residents expressed concerned about what would happen to the neighborhood where the Field Club is located, the Moorestown Patch reported, and the fact that drinking would now be permitted at the club for 16 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The amended ordinance states that a club license will only be issued for premises that are at least 10 acres in size, including contiguous lots under common ownership, the Moorestown Patch reported. No more than two licenses will be issued at a time, and no drinking of alcohol will be allowed between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. each day. The annual fee for a club license will be $188 a year.
Town officials said these restrictions were put in place to have better control over the organizations that could now be able to obtain a club license.
If an amended ordinance were introduced and adopted by the township council, Broder said in September, the Field Club would then have to submit an application to the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Once that application is approved, he said, the club would be able to begin selling alcohol.
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