Later this month, people will be able to buy wine, beer or liquor in restaurants and other stores with liquor licenses beginning at 7 a.m. on Sundays in the Village of Dexter.

The change is the result of a new state law that gives municipalities the option of changing their Sunday alcohol restrictions.

Monday night, the Dexter Village Council voted 5-1, with one member absent, to allow the extended Sunday alcohol sale hours.

Council member Jim Smith voted against the resolution saying, “I’m happy with the current law (that allows sales) at noon. I think it’s important to the people who work around it, and people in the state have lived with it this long; it’s a major change.”

Council member Ray Tell was absent from the meeting.

The state’s liquor control laws were first adopted in 1933 and have undergone several revisions. On Nov. 17, the governor signed a law that allows the sale of beer, wine and spirits between 7 a.m. and noon on Sundays but leaves municipalities the option of opting out of the law.

Council member Paul Cousins said that while he owned a restaurant in the village, the ban on alcohol sales until after noon affected his business tremendously. "There won’t be a lot of people buying alcohol at 7 a.m., but for the restaurants, it makes a difference.”

Cousins also said differing rules among municipalities could confound visitors. He said it would be confusing to people from out of town if nearby communities like Scio Township and Webster Township allow Sunday morning sales but Dexter doesn't.

Jim Carson, also a council member, said if Dexter doesn't allow Sunday morning sales, local businesses will lose out on sales.

“Our village is a gateway to the lakes and if at 10 a.m. people can’t buy beer and wine, they’ll go somewhere else. Let’s say Scio Township allows it; we are telling our residents ‘you want to buy wine or beer, you need to go to Meijer or you go shop at the party store in Dexter Township’ if they allow it.” According to a Dec. 1 letter from the licensing division of the State of Michigan Liquor Control Commission, if local governments want to prohibit the sale of “spirits, mixed spirit drink and/or beer and wine” on Sunday mornings, a resolution must be submitted to the state before Dec. 16.

Sharon Martin, director of the state liquor control commission, wrote “Unless we hear from you concerning this matter, it is our intent to begin issuing the early morning Sunday sales permits to our licensees on Dec. 16, in those governmental units that currently authorize Sunday sales.”

Ypsilanti is considering opting out of Sunday morning liquor sales.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.