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Town advances plan for Riverfront Development District to expand liquor-license availability
Summary
Staff presented a proposal to establish a Riverfront Development District in South Clarksville to increase local control over liquor licenses for restaurants and event venues; staff said an ordinance will return Oct. 7 and the redevelopment commission will consider a resolution.
Town staff and the River Heritage Conservancy described a proposed Riverfront Development District intended to spur riverfront economic development and to make liquor licenses (1-, 2- and 3-way) available for restaurants, an event center and other businesses in the South Clarksville riverfront area. Staff noted that the town previously established a South Clarksville district in 2023 and that changes to Indiana Code affect how far from the river (1,500–3,000 feet in some cases) a municipality may designate a district.
Dennis Schnurbush of the River Heritage Conservancy said two businesses (an event center under construction and a proposed Wildwater Center) are potential early applicants whose earned revenues (catering and beverage sales) would help maintain park capacity. Staff said the ordinance will be drafted for the Oct. 7 council meeting and then sent to the redevelopment commission for a resolution and subsequent state review. "We wanted a totally separate location because as you can see here there there's a pretty good diff distance between the original South Clarksville map and the River Heritage Conservancy area," staff said, noting the proposal is intended to support riverfront development and oversight of license issuance.
The council and staff discussed map boundaries, municipal ownership of properties in the proposed area, and the interplay between licensing availability and public investments such as the event center and riverfront improvements.
