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Commission narrows entertainment district, bans outside-bought alcohol and cuts open-drinking hours
Summary
The Planning Commission approved edits to the entertainment district ordinance that ban consuming alcohol purchased outside the district, limit open-drinking hours to 11 a.m.–midnight, and remove the Rockhouse Liquor block from the district (the commission directed staff to remove only Rockhouse Liquor by legal description).
The Texarkana Arkansas Planning Commission approved revisions to the city’s entertainment-district ordinance aimed at reducing public-safety issues downtown.
Staff (S4) summarized changes agreed at a Nov. 12 joint workshop with the board of directors and downtown business owners: ban consumption of alcohol purchased outside the entertainment district (to discourage visitors from buying liquor elsewhere and then drinking downtown), remove the block containing Rockhouse Liquor from the district, and reduce the hours for open drinking from 2 a.m. to midnight (the staff recommendation set permitted open-drinking hours from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.). "The three things were banning the consumption of alcohol purchased outside the entertainment district... remove that block containing the Rockhouse liquor store... and restrict the hours for open drinking from 11AM to 12AM," S4 said.
A property owner who said he owns a corner lot near the Rockhouse block (Colin, S9) warned that removing the whole block could harm a pending sale and asked whether the ordinance could be revised by legal description to excise only the Rockhouse parcel. Staff and the clerk indicated that removing just Rockhouse Liquor by legal description is feasible and that the commission could adopt that narrower carve-out. Commissioners agreed to an edit limiting removal to the Rockhouse Liquor parcel.
On a motion by a commissioner (S3) the commission approved the entertainment-district revisions with the edit to remove only Rockhouse Liquor; the clerk recorded yes votes from Anita Pickett, Dr. Hickerson, Chris Owens, Corey Mobbs and Chairman Neal.
Staff said it will review the ordinance again and monitor downtown conditions; the commission assigned responsibility to staff to review the entertainment district on a scheduled basis.
