Council schedules public hearings on Uptown and West Star community entertainment districts

City staff presented first readings and scheduled public hearings for two ordinances to establish Community Entertainment Districts (CEDs) under Ohio Revised Code §4301.8: an Uptown district and a West Star district.

Staff explained that a CED creates a number of special community liquor permits (one D‑5‑style permit per five acres in the district) that the municipality can allocate to qualifying businesses. The Uptown proposal covers 42.3 acres and would allow up to eight special permits; the West Star proposal covers 51 acres and would create the maximum 15 permits allowed for a CED of that size. Staff said the city presently has no available D‑1 or D‑5 quota permits and that the CEDs are intended to provide a path to make permits available for incoming businesses without requiring the transfer‑exempt or Trex processes that staff said can cost $20,000–$25,000 for restaurants.

City staff emphasized several limits of CEDs: they do not change zoning or other land‑use controls, they do not change whether an area is dry or wet for ballot processes, and they do not authorize open containers (that authority is the separate DORA process). Staff said CEDs and DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) can be layered but perform different legal functions.

Staff said they held a neighborhood briefing for West Star residents and answered questions on how permits would be allocated and what rights property owners retain. The ordinances were read at first reading; public hearings on both CED ordinances are scheduled for an April meeting and the third readings and votes were scheduled for May 6.

Council members asked whether a city can create multiple CEDs and whether CEDs must be contiguous; staff said multiple CEDs are possible and that statutory and local legislative processes would control any expansion or multiple districts.