Committee tables proposal to expand Amherst DORA to daily summer hours

The ordinance committee voted to table ordinance 2620, a proposal to run a temporary daily DORA in downtown Amherst from May 15 to Sept. 27, 2026, with daily hours of 12:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. Council member Watkins moved to table the measure; the motion passed 6–1.

The police chief told the committee he could not support converting the DORA from an event-based model to a daily, 70-hour-per-week operation, citing staffing constraints, increased alcohol-related calls and the difficulty of policing mapped boundaries. "Moving to a 70 hour a week schedule creates perpetual event atmosphere without specialized staffing to manage that," the police chief said, and contrasted Amherst's roughly 13,000 residents and 26 officers with larger cities that assign daily teams.

Proponents emphasized business support and potential retail benefits. Council member Janek said a petition showed 88% of business members in the DORA district support the move and described the proposal as temporary and business-driven. Downtown business owners also spoke in favor: Judy, owner of The Mermaid's Tale, said she had observed similar daily DORAs in other Ohio towns and that patrons walked, shopped and enjoyed a glass of wine without large disturbances. "I was just in Worthington a couple days ago, and they have a DORA up just like you guys are proposing," Judy said.

Committee members requested more data on local calls for service and sales before revisiting the ordinance. The mayor and others emphasized the city must be able to guarantee public safety and said funding and officer availability were unresolved. The committee did not adopt substantive amendments at the meeting; tabling leaves the ordinance pending further risk-mitigation work and data collection.