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Committee weighs event-based "social districts" pilot to let customers carry alcohol within downtown event areas
Summary
City staff recommended an event-based pilot for state-authorized social districts as one possible downtown activation tool; committee members signaled support for a limited, pilot and event-based approach but asked for more targeted outreach and mapping before moving a permanent ordinance forward.
The Planning, Economic Development and Environment Committee discussed a proposal Aug. 19 to pilot state-authorized "social districts" tied to specific outdoor events that would allow customers to carry alcoholic beverages purchased at participating on-site, ABC-permitted businesses within a defined event boundary.
City Downtown Projects Manager Dana Frankel told the committee the authority for social districts comes from state law and that the program would require a council ordinance, clear geographic boundaries, specific days and hours, signage, and a management and maintenance plan submitted to the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commission. Frankel said a few North Carolina cities have used event-based social districts as pilots and that the city’s legal team had consulted the state ABC office about an event-driven approach.
Frankel said the city found…
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