Should alcohol be sold in Apopka on Sundays?

A public forum was scheduled to take place Tuesday night to gage opinions about legalize the sale of alcohol on Sundays. There are strong feelings for and against the ban, but Mayor Joe Kilsheimer said he thinks the city could find some middle ground.

Kilsheimer said he would like to change the city's current ordinance to allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays beginning at noon. He said that would respect the morning church hours.

"I've proposed a middle way," Kilsheimer said.

Kilsheimer said Apopka residents who want to buy beer or wine on Sunday already do so by going outside of the city's limits. That's taking profits away from local businesses, he said.

Since the end of prohibition, Apopka has maintained strict restrictions on the sale of alcohol.

But some in the faith-based community don't want the law to be changed.

"I would not agree to selling alcohol on Sunday at all," DeLinda Starks said.

Veronica Zurbola, another resident, added: "Six days out of the week is enough."

Others said Apopka should keep up with the times.

"I think it should be allowed because you can honestly just drive down the street and buy it from another city," Keith Erickson said. "So, I think Apopka should just allow it on Sundays."

The way the ordinance is written now, residents can't buy alcohol on Sunday at the Publix on Rock Spring Road, but just 350 yards away, they can buy alcohol at the Citgo since that land is just outside city limits.

"It's just not the alcohol products themselves," Kilsheimer said. "It's the chips that people don't buy and the ice that people don't buy and all the other stuff people buy when they go to a family gathering or party."

Kilsheimer and the City Council will continue to seek public input on the matter. No decision will be made Tuesday, but the feedback will help officials decide how to move forward with possible changes to the ordinance that could allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays.