Monday, January 7, 2002
Orange County v. Costco Wholesale Corp.

no. 01-382

Orange County


Costco and other liquor vendors filed suit challenging an Orange County zoning ordinance prohibiting any vendor from opening a new store within 5,000 feet of an existing liquor store. Orange County contended that the separation requirement was meant to disperse liquor stores rather than let them become concentrated in "combat zones." The trial court upheld the ordinance, but the Fifth District Court reversed on appeal, finding that the only plausible purpose underlying the ordinance was to create zones in which established stores would have a virtual monopoly.