Want to drink more freely in downtown Columbus? This proposed law would change the rules

A proposal to expand the open-container law in downtown Columbus and allow people to have alcoholic drinks at times other than special events was presented to about three dozen business and property owners Tuesday morning.

The proposed ordinance is being recommended by Uptown Columbus Inc., a non-profit downtown redevelopment organization, to create what it terms an entertainment and restaurant district. The proposed ordinance would impact downtown businesses such as bars and restaurants that have an on-premise alcohol license and customers who want to carry an unfinished drink out of the establishment.

Currently, open containers are only allowed during permitted special events, such as Uptown Columbus Inc.’s spring and fall outdoor concert series and other events such as festivals that apply for permits. The proposed new law that could be under consideration by Columbus Council as early as next week would allow open containers every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“This gives you the opportunity to have a glass of wine and go down the street and enjoy the rest of uptown,” said Ross Horner, president and CEO of Uptown Columbus Inc.

The proposed area would be restricted to:

▪  Broadway from Ninth Street to 14th Street.

▪  First Avenue from 12th Street to 10th Street.

▪  Front Avenue from 10th Street to 14th Street.

▪  Bay Avenue from 12th Street to 10th Street.

▪  12th Street from Second Avenue to Bay Avenue.

▪  10th Street from Second Avenue to Bay Avenue.

Miles Greathouse, one of the owners of Maltitude, a downtown beer store, and Nonic, a beer-centric restaurant in the 1200 block of Broadway, said the proposed new law would make the rules more understandable for the businesses and people who frequent downtown.

“The ordinance is already in place whether it’s a Friday night concert series, a festival at Woodruff Park or one of the Saturday afternoon events on Broadway where they put the permit,” Greathouse said. “Those events draw thousands of people and when those thousands of people come back on a Wednesday or Thursday night, they are under the impression it is OK to drink out of an open container when it’s not. What this does is normalize it.”

Here are the highlights of the proposed ordinance:

▪  The beverages would have to be in a shatterproof cup no larger than 16 ounces. Each cup would be required to have a sticker on it, provided by Uptown Columbus Inc. and placed there by the establishment that sold the beverage.

▪  No alcoholic beverages purchased outside of the entertainment district shall be allowed in open containers in the entertainment district.

▪  Alcohol purchased from package stores or growler stores that have an off-premise license are not allowed in open containers in the entertainment district.

▪  Residents of downtown loft apartments and condominiums and the Columbus Historic District would not be permitted to bring alcohol from their homes in open containers in the entertainment district.

▪  Only one drink per person at a time could be purchased and carried out of a restaurant or bar.

▪  It does not include the Chattahoochee Riverwalk or riverfront.

▪  Consuming alcohol in a vehicle is not permitted.

▪  An open container can not be carried into an establishment that does not serve alcohol. An example that was used: someone could not have an open container, walk out of a restaurant and then take that beverage into a retail store in the entertainment district.

Columbus Councilor Mimi Woodson, whose district includes downtown and the proposed district, attended the meeting, as did a number of city department heads.

Columbus Police Maj. J.D. Hawk, who supervises the vice unit, and Clp. Michael O’Keefe, who provides off-duty security for the Uptown Business Improvement District, attended Tuesday’s meeting.

“There are going to be issues, we know that,” O’Keefe said. “Any time you are dealing with people and alcohol, you have to expect issues. We just want to make sure the issues are the ones we want them to be.”

Hawk agreed and said that it has been an ongoing process between Uptown Columbus, Inc., the city and downtown business owners to find a proposed law that is workable.

“Some of the things have been worked out, and I am sure in the future other things will have to be worked out,” Hawk said. “... The enforcement issues are always going to be there, regardless of which way this is. They are there now without this.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2018 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Want to drink more freely in downtown Columbus? This proposed law would change the rules."