The Covington Board of Commissioners postponed a vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would have established a common consumption area, where people could drink alcohol outside, in the Covington Business District.
Mayor Ron Washington told LINK nky after Tuesday’s meeting that it was to allow the commission more time to consider details of the ordinance. The commission will consider the vote again at its next legislative meeting on Aug. 26.
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 area.
The ordinance would have established 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.
James Schafer, co-owner of Hierophany and Hedge, a specialty shop on Pike Street, spoke out against the ordinance Tuesday. Another business owner had also signed up to speak but yielded her time.
“The truth is that we think that this is a solution in want of a problem,” Schafer said. Schafer named concerns like litter, partying, costs incurred due to potential vandalism and the damage such behavior might cause to the reputation of the city as a whole.
He pointed to the example of the recent Arcade Music Fest, which he argued was overshadowed by a break-in at The Bottle Shop by Ripple Wine Bar on Saturday.
“The Arcade Music Festival this past weekend; it was a success,” Schafer said. “People came down. They had a good time. The story which has got traction on social media isn’t related to any of that. It’s related to the break in at Ripple. It’s been shared hundreds of times. It’s been seen by tens of thousands of people. We’ve gotten phone calls from Nashville being like, ‘Hey, can I still bring my family up to your magic shop. Is it going to be safe?'”
Schafer said he objected to the ordinance in its current form.
The commissioners engaged in no discussion on the matter during the course of the meeting, but at least one commissioner, Acri, stuck around to chat with the business owners after the meeting adjourned.