Do you love to drink outside? Well, Covington could soon help you realize that love with its new LOVE – Liquor Outdoor Venue Experience – area, similar to a DORA in Cincinnati.
The city’s board of commissioners performed the first reading of an ordinance establishing such an area, legally referred to as a common consumption area, in the Covington Business District Tuesday night.
The idea was first proposed by Commissioner Tim Acri in April. Common consumption areas, or CCAs (also known as designated open refreshment areas, or DORAs), refer to public areas where open container laws are exempt under certain conditions. Usually, containers in such areas have to be made of special materials and can’t exceed certain size limits. Beverages also can’t be taken out of the boundaries of the area.
Specifically, the ordinance establishes the area where alcohol could be consumed, along defined boundaries along Madison Avenue and between 4th Street and 9th Street. View the map below for a reference.
Special event permits would not be required for serving alcohol within the LOVE area; however, the city manager may suspend LOVE operations “for reasons of public safety, construction, weather emergency or other compelling need” with a twenty-four notice. Businesses within the area would also not be required to apply for special licenses to serve in the LOVE area.
Acri told LINK nky after Tuesday’s meeting that the city was considering establishing similar LOVE areas in other parts of the city, but the details were still being worked out. Timelines for the establishment of more LOVE areas have not yet been determined.
The board of commissioners will cast a final vote on the ordinance at the legislative meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at Covington City Hall on Pike Street.