YOUR REACTION
Followers on our new Ohio Politics Facebook page had strong reactions to the state designating open-alcohol areas. Like our page and join the discussion. Here's some of the reaction:
Gary Hardy: With the craft brewing going on here, Dayton could reinvent itself.
Dan Hutt: I would enjoy this. I think open-container laws are a little silly in this country. I went to Korea and they don't have any open container laws so you could grab a beer at the corner store and then take the subway downtown or to a park somewhere.
Joyce Bussard: No no no.
Michael Garrity: In limited areas, it works in many other places and has for years. There is no reason that it cannot work in such places in Ohio.
Outdoor refreshment areas
More than 60 Ohio cities with a population greater than 35,000 people could creat “outdoor refreshment areas” exempt from the state’s open-container laws.
Cities or townships with a population above 50,000 would be allowed two districts. Those with a population of 35,001-50,000 would be allowed one.
Smaller communities will be able to set up their own open-container areas in two years.
The local cities that impacted by the bill are Dayton, Hamilton, Springfield, Kettering, Middletown, Beavercreek, Fairfield and Huber Heights. Townships impacted would be West Chester, Washington, Beavercreek, Miami, Bath, Liberty and Deerfield.
Ohio could have streets such as Beale in Memphis and Bourbon in New Orleans where people could drink alcohol outside in designated districts, under a law Gov. John Kasich signed on Thursday.
Cities or townships with more than 50,000 people such as Dayton, Springfield, Hamilton and Kettering could create two outdoor drinking districts. Places with 35,000 to 50,000 residents could have one of the designated districts.
The districts must be smaller than a half-mile long and wide and the districts approved by elected officials.
After the law has been in effect two years, communities of any size will be able to create smaller open-container areas.
Bars and breweries have become a new economic catalyst for many Ohio cities including Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus, and some people think outdoor drinking areas would attract even more people.
“The purpose of the outdoor refreshment areas is to create some economic vitality. We’re going to be creating destination points,” said state Rep. Denise Driehaus, D- Cincinnati. “The expectation is families will come, young people will come, old people will come and it will create these very lively, attractive areas in our cities and businesses will have all these folks patronizing their facilities.”
Driehaus was the primary co-sponsor of the House version that passed 87-7 earlier this week.
The idea first took hold in Cincinnati where backers in the Statehouse fast tracked the bill to Kasich’s desk so the state’s first outdoor refreshment area could go to The Banks development next to Great American Ball Park by July 14, when the city hosts the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
It’s not clear beyond Cincinnati what other cities will take immediate advantage of the legislation, but Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said the city should embrace the concept.
“I believe Dayton will eventually have at least one site,” she said. “Where that site is and how we do it — I have no idea.”
Whaley said the city will partner with its neighborhoods and businesses to figure out where the site or sites should go. The city will begin collecting feedback from the community now that the legislation is law, she said.
Dayton city management have been less committal.
City officials said they need to evaluate a district’s benefits and downsides, and the city would only approve a designation with the support of impacted stakeholders.
“We need to do our due diligence to determine the impact on city services, particularly police,” said Shelley Dickstein, assistant city manager. “There are some opportunities, but we have to look at the unintended consequences.”
Ohio House Minority Leader Rep. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, voted for the legislation but said the right conditions may not exist in the Dayton region — or in many other parts of the state — for a successful refreshment area.
Other local cities large enough to be eligible for a district include Middletown, Beavercreek, Fairfield and Huber Heights. Townships impacted would be West Chester, Washington, Beavercreek, Miami, Bath, Liberty and Deerfield.
“I really still don’t see it playing out in a lot of communities. In most communities I don’t see it as a good fit,” Strahorn said. “You have to think about where this currently exists and there are only a handful of places. The most stark example is New Orleans where you have the French Quarter which is an entire neighborhood that is comprised of places to eat and listen to live music and bars and that you walk around and go from place to place.”
Security, other concerns
Strahorn and many in the community point to the the Oregon District as the most likely candidate for an open-container area. Businesses and residents in the Oregon District, though, haven’t fully embraced the idea.
The businesses are concerned that allowing outdoor drinking could result in more trash, noise and public safety problems, which could bleed over into the residential area, said Mike Martin, president of the Oregon District Business Association.
The Oregon district hosts Hauntfest on Fifth and A Taste of Oregon, annual events where people are allowed to walk down Fifth Street with a drink in hand. The business association spends tens of thousands of dollars to get licenses and fence off the business district to keep the revelry contained, he said. Hauntfest requires hiring police and paying for additional cleanup and lighting to improve public safety. The potential cost of providing security and sanitation services every night is a great concern of association members, he said.
“The installation of an entertainment district concept without sufficient controls in place (and at a significant cost) could negatively impact the quality of life in the residential district,” Martin said.
Members of the Downtown Dayton Partnership are interested in studying outdoor drinking areas, but they first need to better understand what the law says and its implications, said Sandy Gudorf, the group’s president.
“In principle, it sounds great,” she said. “But we have to think about security, cleanup and there needs to be a consensus around the issue with commercial businesses and residents.”
Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, also has concerns about the consequences of freewheeling entertainment districts. He is the only local lawmaker to vote against the measure.
“If we open it up where people can walk around (with alcohol) it’s going to create issues we aren’t ready to handle yet,” Koehler said.
But the concept is hardly foreign to those who travel overseas, said Driehaus.
Driehaus said during a trip to Cologne, Germany, where open containers of alcohol are permitted, she attended a parade and had just the kind of experience she’d like to see replicated in Ohio.
“There were kids and adults and families and everyone was outside in the sun,” she said. “In my experience these can be very family friendly. You do have to be intentional about that but I think we have been intentional about that.”
One group of investors hopes to bring some German zest to Dayton with a beer garden and restaurant near Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton.
Called Biergarten, patrons could drink and dine outdoors inside a fenced area. But it would be great if customers could take drinks outside of the enclosed area and stroll to the ballpark or other establishments, said David Klass, the project director.
“This would be a natural place for an outdoor refreshment area,” Klass said. “I think this would help all of the businesses and bars.”
Klass said construction on the beer garden should begin in about 10 weeks with a targeted opening in late summer.
“We know there are a lot of other states and cities that do this, and it’s worked out,” Klass said. “I am for it.”
Suburban areas want in
Austin Landing in Miami Twp. is interested in creating an outdoor drinking area, but it would not have the hard-partying feel of the Oregon Historic District during St. Patrick’s Day, said Bo Gunlock, president of RG Properties, the developer.
If approved, the development’s outdoor drinking area would likely go around the Park at Austin Landing, which features a pond set next to restaurants and an event space, he said.
“We think there would be a benefit to the development and the consumers here eating at the restaurants to walk outside with a glass of wine,” he said.
The Greene also meets the criteria necessary to establish an outdoor drinking district. Management needs to study the details of the legislation before making any decisions about whether to seek a designation, said Steve Willshaw, general manager.
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