Polk County Board of County Commissioners (officials designated under County Code Sec. 3-20)

Certificate of Zoning Approval (COZA) for an Alcoholic Beverage License Location

County Code Sec. 3-17 defines a COZA as the certificate of zoning approval on Division of Beverage Form DBR-712L, a prerequisite to consideration of an application for a license to sell alcoholic beverages. Applications go to the officials designated by the Board of County Commissioners and include the completed state form in triplicate, a legal description, and a site drawing locating any churches and schools within 3,000 feet (Sec. 3-20). Under Sec. 3-21(b), a new license application is rejected unless the location is in a commercial zoning district of the appropriate class. Sec. 3-18 sets minimum distances from an established church or school: 1,000 feet for beer-only or beer-and-wine consumption on premises (1-COP and 2-COP), and 2,500 feet for all other licenses in the territory outside the incorporated municipalities; the Sec. 3-18(d) table lists no distance requirement for a beer-and-wine carry-out package license. The distance rules do not apply to a restaurant with full meal service seating for at least 150 people that holds a special restaurant license (Sec. 3-18(c)). Distance is measured property line to property line (Sec. 3-19), and the county zoning board of adjustment may grant variances (Sec. 3-18.1). Sec. 3-2 sets hours of sale for licensed premises in the territory not included within any municipality: 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the next day Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight on Sunday; Sec. 3-2(b) bars Sunday sales of sealed containers over 14 percent alcohol by weight for consumption off the premises. The state license itself is issued by DBPR's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.