The Dayton City Commission on Wednesday is slated to have the first reading of a resolution spelling out the requirements to create Outdoor Refreshment Areas.
The city already has received inquiries from local property owners and businesses that serve alcohol that want to know more about forming districts, officials said.
Petitioners will be required to complete a variety of measures to convince city staff that establishing a district will not create safety and sanitation problems and other burdens for local property owners and stakeholders.
“We wanted to make sure that there was great public input as it relates to establishing these districts, so we added that as a significant component of our process, which was not required in the state legislation,” said Shelley Dickstein, Dayton’s assistant city manger.
On Wednesday, Dayton commissioners are expected to have the first reading of a resolution outlining procedural steps necessary to form an outdoor refreshment zone.
Ohio law places certain requirements and restrictions on outdoor drinking areas and the process by which they are approved. But the city of Dayton plans to add some requirements of its own.
Under the resolution, applicants must submit a map of the proposed drinking district and its boundaries, as well as details about what hours and days of the week the district will operate.
Petitions must include a list of all properties inside the district, and the supporting signatures of at least four holders of qualified liquor permits.
Petitioners will be required to show they consulted with relevant city departments and other stakeholders, the draft document says.
Petitioners also will have to submit an “implementation plan” detailing how the district will be adequately policed and cleaned, as well as the funding sources for those expenses.
Petitioners also will be required to estimate how many public safety and sanitation workers and trash receptacles the districts will need to remain safe and clean.
Petitions will have to describe the applicants’ plans for signage to identify the district’s boundaries and provide other useful information.
“We put the onus on the petitioner of how they will meet the requirements of the legislation,” said Aaron Sorrell, Dayton’s director of planning and community development.
Also under the proposed rules, a committee consisting of representatives from the city’s police, public works, economic development, law and other departments will review the petitions.
Applications will be evaluated based on the strength and feasibility of the implementation plans, the ability of city staff to handle service demands at the refreshment area and the potential impact on the health, safety and welfare of properties inside and around the new district.
Committee members also will consider whether the proposals have the support of impacted property owners and stakeholders and align with the city’s goals and plans.
The city manager will review reports evaluating petitions. The city manager then will decide whether or not to send the petition to the city commission, which can designate an outdoor drinking area by ordinance.
The proposed resolution requires that drinking district permits are reviewed annually by city commissioners, which is not required under state law.
“The purpose of our process is to make sure a proposal is well thought out and well vetted,” Sorrell said. “It made sense for us to be able to intercede if things are going poorly, but if they are not — fantastic.”
Sorrell said several sections the city have enough qualified permit holders to create an outdoor refreshment area. The Oregon Historic District on Fifth Street and Brown Street by the University of Dayton both are eligible.
A couple of downtown areas qualify, depending on how the boundaries are drawn, he said.
Jefferson Street has a cluster of permit-holders, including Masque, Stage Door and MJ’s on Jefferson. The N. Patterson Boulevard area has eligible permit holders, including Canal Street Tavern and Riff Raff Tavern on the Canal, and a beer garden has been proposed.
Interest in the drinking districts has been “lukewarm,” but some businesses may be waiting for a petition process to be put in place before making inquiries, said Dickstein.
Establishing outdoor alcohol districts likely will not have a major economic impact on Dayton unless the districts attract new investment and lead to new programming, Dickstein said.
“Beale Street (in Memphis, Tenn.) is at a much bigger scale but has a lot of music and festivals,” she said. “Fourth Street Live in Louisville (which is a private development) has some very deliberate mixes of uses, new investment and programming.”
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