Cups with stickers signifying they are a designated outdoor refreshment area-cup will be given to participating businesses and vendors under Greenwood’s proposed DORA. Provided by the city of Greenwood
Cups with stickers signifying they are a designated outdoor refreshment area-cup will be given to participating businesses and vendors under Greenwood’s proposed DORA. Provided by the city of Greenwood
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A divided Greenwood city council approved creating a dedicated area of downtown where people can carry alcohol in public.

Council members voted 5-3, with member Michael Williams absent, to create a designated outdoor refreshment area, or DORA, on Monday night. Under Indiana law, these areas allow individuals to carry alcohol and beverages in approved containers within the boundaries designated by the city, officials previously said.

Council president Mike Campbell, vice president Linda Gibson and council member Steve Moan voted against the creation of a DORA.

Greenwood is the latest Central Indiana city to establish a DORA, and the second in Johnson County. Bargersville previously approved a DORA last year.

The area Greenwood officials want to establish as a DORA is essentially all along Madison Avenue, from Fry Road south to Smith Valley Road. The area expands when it gets near Main Street to include businesses along Market Plaza. South of Main Street, it goes as far east as Washington Street. It includes Old City Park and Craig Park, according to city documents.

Signs featuring red coloring would be put up to tell people when they are entering and leaving the DORA, City Controller Greg Wright previously said.

Businesses that want to sell alcohol will have to apply to be designated permitted within the DORA, leaving control of who is granted one to the city. These businesses would have to put the drinks into special cups emblazoned with a DORA sticker and a QR code for people to seek more information. People would be allowed to drink from these cups within the area, Wright said.

Along with permanent businesses, temporary event vendors can also get temporary permits within the DORA. Temporary event vendor sites are along Euclid and Madison avenues, all of Old City Park, a parking lot inside Craig Park and the Greenwood Amphitheater area, city documents show.

These temporary vendors could be present at events like Freedom Fest, Final Fridays, WAMM Fest and Our Lady of the Greenwood’s fair, Wright said.

To apply to take part in the DORA, businesses have to submit a permit request to the city, which would then go to its Board of Public Works and Safety for approval. It then has to be submitted to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission for final approval, Wright said.

Ten Old Town businesses have submitted completed applications to the city to participate so far:

Vino Villa, 200 N. Madison Ave.
La Trattoria, 201 N. Madison Ave.
Yokohama, 67 N. Madison Ave.
Planetary Brewing Co., 188 S. Madison Ave.
Draft Day Pub, 147 S. Madison Ave.
Sip, 250 W. Main St.
Revery, 299 W. Main Street
SmockTown Brewing, 233 W. Main St.
Fresh Pots, 221 W. Main St.
Jockamo Pizza, 401 Market Plaza
Businesses that get a permanent permit will be reviewed annually by the BPWS. One-time permits will be given to the temporary vendors through the same application process.

Businesses and temporary vendors within the DORA area would be given stickers to show their participation, or lack thereof. Red stickers would be given out to places that aren’t allowing alcohol, blue stickers would be given to places that allow alcohol and green stickers would be given to places that are selling alcohol, according to city documents. All of the city-owned facilities within the DORA will have red stickers/signs indicating alcohol is not permitted

No outside drinks are permitted within the DORA, and people can only drink alcohol from DORA cups. Each person can carry two drinks at any time. Restrictions on this include no more than 16 ounces of beer or malt beverages; no more than 12 ounces of wine, cider or hard seltzers; and no more than 10 ounces of mixed drinks that have no more than 2 oz of liquor each, Wright said.

Public intoxication is also still a criminal offense in the DORA, he said.

The DORA will operate from noon to midnight Monday through Sunday. There will be increased police patrols to “preempt” any intoxication issues, Wright said.

The hours of operation became one of the top concerns of council members who voted against creating a DORA on Monday. Both Mike Campbell and Steve Moan said the hours should be shorter.

They said noon to midnight each day is “excessive.” Campbell suggested the city shorten the hours to what Carmel and Evansville have. Carmel’s are 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m to 9 p.m. on Sunday, while Evansville’s are 4:30 to 10 p.m. weeknights, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends and during the months of June and July the hours become 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, the cities’ websites show.

Moan referenced how other communities limited hours during weekdays and expanded them during summer too.

“I think just a carte blanche 12 p.m./noon to midnight may lead itself to some noise issues,” he said. “I think the idea of this kind of community environment, on its face, is pretty good, but I do think that it could turn into some additional issues.”

Council member David Hopper asked Parks and Recreation Executive Director Rob Taggart about whether the noon to midnight time frame captured events the city held. The answer was yes.

Moan later suggested amending the DORA’s weekday hours, but the amendment was not ultimately offered. Hopper expressed concern about it creating issues with holidays that fall on weekdays that could have special events, such as St. Patrick’s Day.

The DORA hours were not the only concern for Campbell, who was previously the only council member to vote against it during first reading. While Campbell appreciated the idea, he thought it would pose more risk than benefits for the community.

“My concerns include increased enforcement demands on police and public safety personnel; greater risk of public intoxication; nuisance behavior and violations of DORA boundaries; potential negative impact on non-alcohol related businesses and family-oriented environments; added administrative and financial burdens for signage, enforcement and cleanup; possible conflicts with nearby residential areas, churches and schools; liability and compliance challenges under state alcohol laws,” Campbell said in prepared remarks he gave to the council.

Campbell was concerned that the enforcement of the rules of the DORA relies on businesses that “directly profit from alcohol sales,” adding that there was no practical way to verify how much alcohol is poured into each cup. He was also concerned that the city would bear costs for enforcement, signage and clean up at a time when the city is facing “extreme financial constraints,” referring to property tax revenue shortfalls, despite the city receiving no direct revenue from the DORA, he said.

Along with shortening the hours, Campbell believed that the DORA should have an application fee or some way for businesses to offset costs to the city, and that the city should do a short-term pilot program with a sunset clause.

Council member Dave Lekse countered that the DORA was already a pilot program and that if adjustments were needed, the council could change the ordinance. Member Erin Kasch agreed.

Ultimately, the DORA was passed with no changes Monday night.
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