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Council authorizes outreach to businesses as first step toward Market Street DORA
Summary
City law director outlined the application steps required to create a designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA) for Market Street. Council asked staff to proceed with business and resident outreach and return an application for formal consideration.
Law Director Rod Steffen described the legal and procedural requirements to create a designated outdoor refreshment area — commonly called a DORA — in Brookville’s Market Street business district and asked council whether staff should proceed. Council instructed staff to begin outreach with business owners and residents and to prepare a formal application and public hearing schedule.
Steffen said the application must include a map of the proposed area, a statement of the types of establishments that would be located there and documentation that the area complies with statutory limits (as cited by Steffen during the meeting). He noted that communities with fewer than 50,000 residents must show at least two qualified permit holders in the area and cannot have more than three DORA areas. Steffen recommended early outreach to the business community about hours, operational rules and the plastic cups or other service containers that permit holders must use.
Police Chief Doug Jerome described enforcement and safety measures and reported positive experiences in nearby jurisdictions. Chief Jerome said the city’s public-safety staff already use special-event permitting and that the Market Street area is small (roughly three blocks); he supported an annual review and early outreach with permit-holding businesses. He noted that Thursday-night events downtown have grown and that council could exclude Sunday from the DORA if nearby churches or permit holders do not have Sunday sales.
City staff identified likely participating permit holders in the Market Street area as O’Reilly’s, Made in Mulberry, and Tick Tacos; an ice-cream shop was described as pending. Staff noted carry-out businesses generally do not count as DORA permit holders. Council agreed staff should contact businesses and residents and return a formal application with a recommended map and hours; council asked staff to build flexibility into the plan so special events can be added or excluded on specific dates.
No ordinance was adopted at this meeting; staff will return the application and proposed ordinance for public hearing and a council vote if businesses and public outreach support the proposal.
