Celina council approves DORA

CELINA - City council voted to approve legislation establishing a designated outdoor refreshment area in Celina that would permit people to drink alcohol in DORA-designated cups outside within set boundaries from noon to 11 p.m. every day.

A city DORA application will now advance to the state for review, a process that could take anywhere from a few months to a year, according to city safety service director Tom Hitchcock.

At Monday night's regular meeting, all councilors except Myron Buxton, who was absent, voted in favor of the ordinance on its final reading. They approved an amended version that would allow for an extra 5.2-acre section of land to be included in the DORA should the property be annexed within the city and changes be made to state law.

As the law stands, no alcohol is permitted on the boardwalk along Grand Lake known as the Celina Rotary Walkway, which is on state property.

Mayor Jeff Hazel during Monday's council meeting said he spoke with people at the state about changing Ohio law to provide for consumption of approved alcoholic beverages on specified entertainment corridors, specifically the Rotary Walkway.

"Just as a side note, the state did change to allow alcoholic beverages on campsites which they did not do that before," Hazel said. "I spoke with several people at the state today. But they said that they would certainly look at changing legislation for certain provisions."

Should the state enact the changes, the city also would have to complete an annexation for the 5.2-acre area to be included in the DORA, Hazel said.

The city would have to annex West Bank Road and the Rotary walkway "from the southern corporation boundary crossing West Bank Road south to the West Bank Spillway at the headwaters of Beaver Creek and to include the entire right-of-way of West Bank Road and the contiguous West Bank Rotary Walkway with Ohio Revised Code amendments enacted by the Ohio Legislature," the amended city ordinance reads.

The total size of the city's proposed DORA - with the inclusion of the boardwalk and West Bank - Road would be 148.5 acres, a notch below the state maximum of 150 acres, Hazel said.

Seemingly heeding councilman Mike Sovinski's call for input, numerous business owners who would be benefited by the DORA attended Monday's meeting and voiced support for the measure.

Chris and Cassie Campbell, co-owners of the award-winning restaurant The Merchant House in Greenville, will operate The James Watson House in downtown Celina which is scheduled to open late this year.

The Greenville DORA has been a boon to the Merchant House, the couple said.

"DORA has been amazing for us," Cassie Campbell said. "With having DORA now we had a 65% increase year-over-year growth on that so coming out of the pandemic, obviously that is a big deal for us to make those sales."

The DORA helped the business survive some really lean times amid the COVID pandemic, Chris Campbell added.

"So having DORA really helped us to have some extra sales, to drive those sales, to keep fully staffed and not have to lay people off in our restaurant," he said.

Cassie Campbell said concerns were broached about public drunkenness when the DORA was considered in Greenville. Those fears never materialized.

"I can tell you there is not one incidence that's on the books that anybody's been falling down drunk out in the streets or anything like that," she said.

The DORA, if approved by the state, would allow people to walk around outside with an alcoholic beverage - purchased from a bar or restaurant in a DORA-marked cup -within established boundaries. People also could take their drinks into DORA-participating shops but not into another bar or restaurant that serves alcohol, Hitchcock had said.

The aim of the DORA, which would be active noon to 11 p.m. every day, is to enhance the experience of patrons in city businesses and attendees of special events held in Celina, the legislation reads.

The map includes the downtown, extends east down Market Street and up to Grand Lake Road, Havemann Road and Irmscher Boulevard.

"This area includes restaurants, stores, financial institutions, professional services and miscellaneous retail," the application states. "While there are single-family residences and apartments in this area, the DORA was specifically designed to encompass key areas of business and retail in the community."

It does not cover any city parks.

The city's role in the DORA would include placing information signs at every intersecting roadway within DORA boundaries, providing routine police patrols to enforce responsible behavior in the DORA and ensuring all trash receptacles in the DORA are emptied regularly, according to the city's DORA application.

Moreover, the mayor, safety service director and police chief would have the authority to shut down the DORA at any time without prior notice, the application reads.