New Philadelphia businesses in the downtown area want an area for visitor and patrons to be able to bypass open container laws.
A group, led by business owner Jim Kinsely, met with city council Monday evening to discuss the idea of a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA for short.
He says that in 2015, Ohio passed laws that allow for open containers in specific glasses or other vessels in designated areas.
Under that law, the business owners would like to see legislation in New Phila that would allow the practice, which has some safeguards to ensure patrons are following the rules.
“These containers are usually like a Solo cup with a logo on it, but it has to designated with some kind of lettering to make sure that it is a designated cup.”
Knisely identified the New Phila VFW as a sponsor of the cups, with businesses charging a fee for them, with proceeds being returned to the VFW for projects like their food pantry.
The proposed zone would run from Fair Avenue to Front Street, and from Second Street to First Street, with seven locations within that serve alcoholic beverages.
Initial concerns included how beneficial the legislation could actually be to the downtown, as well as a potential legal tie up with one area within the zone, as asked by Councilmember Michael Walker.
“We [Mayor Joel Day and myself] were talking back and forth about getting a drink and walking down to the courtyard at the courthouse. Does anyone know if that’s even legal?”
While no one on council had a definitive answer, that question along with others will be discussed in later committee meetings.
Knisely says that he contacted eight other communities with similar legislation in place, with no issues of note related to increased litter, underage consumption, or disturbances.
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