Winters council adopts downtown social district ordinance after heated public input

The Winters City Council voted unanimously May 5 to adopt Ordinance 26-02 establishing a downtown entertainment or “social” district that will allow customers to carry alcohol within a defined area during set hours.

The measure, introduced by city manager Craig and backed by local business owners, formalizes practices the city allowed during the pandemic and sets operational rules including no outside alcohol, ID checks and wristbanding, use of specific cup materials, and a requirement that businesses report incidents to the police chief within 24 hours. The ordinance approves an operations plan the city and chamber will use to run a pilot season and return to council with a season-end review.

City manager Craig said the ordinance stems from state legislation (SB 969) that opened the option for cities statewide. “This was designed initially to mirror what we’re already doing for the street closure on Main Street,” he said, and described wristbands, branded cups and entry signage as tools to make compliance visible and enforceable.

Community response before the vote was mixed and often pointed. Susan Hamilton, a longtime farmer and downtown business owner, urged the council to “slow the process down,” saying she had seen visitors with open containers enter her shop and that the city should study protections for businesses that do not serve alcohol. “I’m asking that council slow this down, get more input, and consider businesses who have objections,” she said.

Business owners and Chamber-affiliated speakers offered the opposite view: Giselle Jeter, owner of Hotel Winters, told the council the district has supported downtown vibrancy and tourism and said municipal rules would give businesses and the city clearer tools to manage behavior locally. “We see a very noticeable increase in foot traffic and customer engagement during events,” she said.

Council members pressed staff on details before the vote: why the draft set hours from noon to midnight, how boundaries were chosen, whether cups and wristbands would be standardized, and how enforcement would work. Craig said the noon-to-midnight window was intended to establish a consistent schedule for participating businesses and that hours could be amended by council if needed; he also said the city will coordinate wristbands and work with suppliers on cup materials.

On enforcement, the operations plan places initial responsibility with each participating business for managing patrons and requires incident reports to the Winters Police Department; Craig said routine patrols and a recently budgeted additional officer would provide some public-safety visibility but that businesses, the chamber and the city would share enforcement responsibilities.

Councilmember (mover) made the motion to adopt the ordinance; councilmember (second) seconded it. The meeting record shows a unanimous voice vote in favor and no opposing votes recorded.

The ordinance will take effect as specified in the council action, and the city manager said staff will implement the operations plan for the coming season and bring a review to council after the season ends to consider adjustments or boundary changes.

For now, the most immediate next steps are implementation logistics: finalizing wristband and cup procurement, placing signage at district entry points that will include hours and a QR code linking to district rules, and coordinating the chamber’s role as district lead contact. The council also directed staff to ensure a season review and to be prepared to adjust hours or rules should enforcement or public-safety problems arise.

The council adopted the ordinance at the May 5 meeting and there are no further scheduled votes tied to this item pending the season-end review.