[ad_1]
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) — The Columbus City Council held a packed house tonight. Many business owners and Columbus residents were there to hear a proposed ordinance that would allow people to bring public beverages in public.
Council members spent some time discussing bringing the city’s first entertainment district to residential.
If city officials approve turning part of the area into an entertainment area where people can bring drinks in public, the Uptown trip could become even more exciting for some. Currently, you cannot enter a business in Uptown after having a drink at another business.
Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said he has spoken with law enforcement in the surrounding area about the success of such tourist attractions.
“I’ve spoken to the chief of police in a very similar area, they have a very similar process, it’s less of a challenge for them in Savannah, and I’m sure we might have some similar outcomes here, ‘ said Chief Blackmon.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Councilman Mimi Woodson introduced a resolution that would see Highside Market, at 2nd Avenue and 13th Street, as home to the city’s first entertainment precinct. Part of the resolution includes a vote on whether customers should be allowed to bring open containers of alcohol.
City officials said they had met with different business owners who had mixed views on the project.
“The questions I heard at the 2:00 meeting last week – a lot of times the answer was, ‘We don’t know. We don’t know the region itself is developing. We don’t know what’s going on in the cup. So, if it’s not clear, How do you know how it will perform?” asked Columbus resident Molly Smith.
“It’s proven in Dunwoody, Conyers, Tocoa, Savannah, Atlanta, Marietta, Cartersville, Phoenix and Opelika – they can do it and It was a success,” said Garrett Lawrence, a business owner in Uptown Columbus.
But overall, many business owners at Monday’s council meeting supported the project.
Columbus business owner Niki Gedroic said, “I think the vast majority of people have been to the city and liked the entertainment district and found that it’s something they want to see in a residential area.”
The project proposal won’t be approved anytime soon. City officials will discuss it again in a year’s time.
Copyright 2022 WTVM. all rights reserved.
[ad_2]
Source link