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Mebane makes downtown social district permanent and expands its boundaries
Summary
The City Council voted to make the downtown social district permanent and enlarge it to include 204 North 5th Street (with owner consent); staff said the program is paid for by the Downtown Mebane Business Association and reported minimal costs to police and public works.
The Mebane City Council on May 5 adopted ordinance amendments to make the downtown social district permanent and to slightly expand its boundaries to include a property at 204 North 5th Street, subject to the property owner's consent. Council also approved including a future pocket park (to be named Veterans Garden once constructed) within the district's map.
City Attorney Lawson Brown told the council that, under the proposed amendments, the district would become a permanent part of the city ordinance and that an accompanying map must be submitted to the State ABC Board as required. Brown said businesses and the Downtown Mebane Business Association (DMDC) handle logistics and costs for cups, labels and signage, and that police and public works report little to no expense associated with the program.
DMDC Executive Director R. Schaeffer (introduced during the meeting) and business representatives praised the district. "While we haven't seen a huge increase of traffic, at the Dogwood Festival we did see people who were able to patronize our businesses with the approved cups," Kelly Galvin, speaking for the Little Shops of Mebane, said during public comment.
A council member (Speaker 11) moved to accept the DMDC update and adopt the ordinance amendments to make the social district permanent, enlarge its map to include the requested property at 204 North 5th Street (with owner consent) and to include the pocket park once constructed; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
What's next: The city will submit the ordinance map to the State ABC Board and staff will coordinate implementation details with DMDC and downtown businesses.
