The City of Covington is inviting residents to share their thoughts on establishing an outdoor drinking area, commonly known by its Cincinnati moniker DORA, at a public meeting later in October.
City Manager Sharmili Reddy announced Tuesday night the city would host the meeting as part of a typical Covington Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 21. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Covington City Hall on Pike Street.
“We’re encouraging anybody that has an opinion about the [area] to please attend that public meeting and share their comments,” Reddy said on Tuesday.
Officially called common consumption areas, or CCAs, these areas are designated sections of the city 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.
Commissioner Tim Acri first proposed the idea in April, but the passage of an ordinance establishing an area hit a snag after some business owners pushed back, particularly as it related to the boundaries of the originally proposed area. The board of commissioners voted to table a proposed ordinance twice in August.
The city released a new proposed area, represented in the map below. The area isn’t finalized and may change based on public feedback.
The city has also proposed the following operating hours, which, again, may change based on public feedback:
- Thursdays: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Fridays & Saturdays: 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.
- Mondays (optional): 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. during Bengals and Reds games
