BY MICHELLE KEY
PUBLISHER
OPELIKA — The Opelika City Council opened its Tuesday night meeting with a moment of silence honoring Auburn native Maj. Alex Klinner and other servicemen and women who recently died in an accident in Iraq.
Opelika Mayor Eddie Smith and the council recognized Earl Ballard as the Character Council Citizen of Excellent Character for March, highlighting compassion as the month’s character trait.
Council tables hemp license
request
The Opelika City Council voted to table a request from Top Shelf Alternatives LLC for a specialty license to sell consumable hemp products, delaying a decision that has already stretched for months.
Ward 4 Council Member Chuck Beams requested that the item be removed from the consent agenda, after which Ward 3 Council Member Leigh Whatley made a motion to table the request. The motion passed on a 3-2 vote, with Ward 2 Council Member Janataka Holmes and Ward 5 Council Member Todd Rauch voting against tabling the request.
The request was discussed during the work session in relation to zoning restrictions within the Gateway Corridor overlay district.
During discussion, City Attorney Robbie Treese explained that the business had initially applied for a license tied to alcohol sales, which are not permitted in the Gateway Corridor.
“He was seeking a license which was paired with an alcohol license, but the alcohol license was in a special overlay district, the Gateway Corridor, and wouldn’t be permitted there for any alcohol establishment sales,” Treese said.
Treese said the applicant has since revised the request.
“He has come back to this body seeking approval for a specialty retailer of consumable hemp products alone,” Treese said.
Bradley Haddon, owner of Top Shelf Alternatives, said the delay continues to have a significant financial impact on his business.
“We’ve spent over $100,000 since last year retrofitting the store, getting everything ready,” Haddon said. “We’re losing about $2,500 a day, and that adds up fast. Every delay is money we’re never going to get back.”
Haddon said he initially sought a meeting with Opelika Mayor Eddie Smith but instead met with city staff, including representatives from the legal and revenue departments, to discuss his options due to Smith being out of town.
Haddon said he was advised that requesting rezoning which would allow alcohol sales in the Gateway Corridor would be a lengthy process — requiring multiple approvals — with no guarantee of success, prompting him to abandon that approach. Instead, he said he decided to convert the business into a standalone consumable hemp retailer, making structural changes to the building to comply with state requirements.
“They told me it could take 90 to 100 days and go through multiple phases,” Haddon said. “I don’t have that kind of time, so we switched to a standalone hemp store and made the changes needed to be compliant.”
He said his application for a hemp retail license was initially submitted Jan. 14 and had hoped it would be approved during Tuesday’s meeting. Instead, it was tabled with no discussion as to why.
“We’ve done everything they asked us to do,” he said. “At this point, we’re just waiting on approval so we can open our doors.”
Council split on decision
Ward 5 Council Member Todd Rauch said he voted against tabling the request and intended to support the license.
“This has been going on since November, and we haven’t had one single resident come to the council and say they didn’t want this,” Rauch said. “We’ve had multiple people come speak in favor of [hemp products], so I was confounded by the decision to table it.”
Rauch said he believes the delay may be tied to broader discussions about regulating hemp sales within the Gateway Corridor.
“I don’t understand why they wanted to table it other than to try to prevent the sale of hemp in the Gateway Corridor,” he said.
Ward 4 Council Member Chuck Beams, however, said his support for tabling the request was based on the need for additional time to consider how hemp sales should be handled within the Gateway Corridor.
“I’m not comfortable rushing into that,” Beams said. “We need to have some time to look at whether we want hemp in the Gateway Corridor.”
Beams said he views hemp as being regulated similarly to alcohol at the state level and believes the council should evaluate whether existing restrictions in the corridor should apply.
“The state of Alabama is treating hemp like alcohol,” he said. “If that’s the case, then we need to decide if we want to allow that in the Gateway Corridor before we move forward.”
He added that his position is not opposition to hemp sales overall.
“It’s not that I’m against it,” Beams said. “It’s about the location and making sure we make the right decision for the long term.”
Ward 3 Council Member Leigh Whatley declined to comment on the decision prior to publication.
The council approved the consent agenda, which included:
- Alcohol license request — Tienda El Paraiso LLC (retail wine off-premise; retail beer on-premise)
- Alcohol license request — Opelika Auburn Films Arts Collective DBA Boxcar (retail wine and beer on/off-premise)
- Downtown street closure — Taste of the Town (April 28, 2026)
- Downtown street closure — O-Grows Market (May 2, 2026)
- Expense reports from various departments
- Declared surplus property and authorized disposal
- Purchase of 624 Toter 96-gallon carts (OES) — $37,608
- Pentera software proposal approval (IT) — $81,053.84
- Professional services contract with KPS Group (Planning) — $85,400
- Acceptance of property donation from CB&E Development Co. Inc. for Cunningham Drive roundabout
- Employment contract approval — Patrick McCulloch
- Approval of new Public Safety Cadet job description
- Special appropriation to Opelika Chamber — 20 Under Forty — $1,250
- Special appropriation to Envision Opelika — Worthy Squared 5K — $500
The council also approved the following resolutions and ordinances:
- The council approved a request to vacate a portion of North 12th Street.
- The council approved an ordinance to annex 4.6 acres located at 223 Lee Road 799.
- The council approved an ordinance to declare 601 Ave. A as surplus property and approved its conveyance.
- The council introduced an ordinance to rezone 12.5 acres located at 1550 and 1570 North Uniroyal Road from R-2 to C-2 and GC-P for its first reading.
- The council introduced an ordinance to rezone 113.4 acres located in the 4600 block of Birmingham Highway from R-2 to C-3 and GC-P.
- The council introduced an ordinance to rezone 42.73 acres located in the 1500 block of Century Boulevard from R-3 to R-5.
- The council introduced an ordinance to rezone 21.11 acres located at 598 Dunlop Drive from R-1 to R-2 and R-3.
During public comment, Opelika resident Buddy Bruce said residents are not opposed to development along White Road but asked the council to reduce density to better match the area’s existing large-lot character.
“There are five or six houses on that side of the road and a few on the other, and the character of that neighborhood is large estate lots,” Bruce said. “We’re not opposed to development or Dunlop developing the property, but along White Road, we’re asking for lower density than what’s proposed. We understand the plan has gone from 12 lots down to eight, but we still have concerns. Some of the proposed lot changes extend into the pond, where homes can’t be built. We also recently learned the area is zoned R-2, though we believed it was R-1, and we would prefer it remain R-1 on our side of the road. We simply ask for consideration in lowering the density.” - The council introduced an ordinance to rezone 6.59 acres located at 3310 Society Hill Road from R-1 to C-2 and GC-P for its first reading.
