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Evansville council adopts amended downtown DORA, narrowing southern boundary
Summary
The Evansville Common Council unanimously approved an amended designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA) boundary and added participating businesses after obtaining required letters of consent from nearby schools and churches.
The Evansville Common Council on March 10 unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s designated outdoor refreshment area, moving the southern boundary north from Cherry Street to Walnut and adding a few downtown businesses as authorized DORA permit locations.
The change, approved 9-0 on second reading as ordinance G2025-05, was presented to the council as a technical correction needed for the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission application and to reflect consent letters from nearby institutions. “Any church or K through 12 school that is within 200 feet of the DORA has to provide a letter of consent,” the DORA presenter told the council, adding the amended boundary now has “those necessary letters of consent from entities like Signature School, City Church, Encounter Church, and Trinity United Methodist Church.”
Why it matters: Indiana Code 7.1-3-31 requires local municipal authorization and, for some permit processes, evidence of consent from nearby protected institutions. Council members said the narrowed boundary resolves a prior inclusion of a church that preferred to be excluded because of its recovery work. The presenter also reported adding downtown food-and-drink businesses including Pangaea Pizzeria and Zuki to the list of participating locations.
Council discussion focused on whether the boundary can be adjusted again in the future. Councilmember Hieronymus asked if there was any limit to how often boundaries could be modified; the presenter responded that the council could return to amend boundaries again and that the body has the authority to form up to seven DORAs in its jurisdiction. The presenter also said the boundary, once established, is intended to be permanent unless this council chooses to rescind it.
No members of the public spoke on the item during the public comment period before the roll call. The clerk recorded roll-call approval from Councilwoman Mosby, Councilman Hieronymus, Councilwoman Carothers, Councilwoman Kayla Lindsay, Councilman Brinkmeyer, Councilwoman Allen, Councilman Green, Councilman Johnson and Councilman Schrockman; the ordinance was declared adopted.
The council did not enumerate an implementation date in the meeting; the presenter said the amendment was made to align with the commission application and to allow the newly listed establishments to participate.
