Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Members of the Pemberville village council will host a public hearing on April 7 at 7 p.m. inside the town hall building at 115 Main Street to discuss the proposed establishment of a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA).
The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comments regarding the establishment of a DORA, which would include the following areas: Front Street from Pine Street to Cedar Street, north along Walnut Street to include the village’s public restrooms, and south along Water Street to encompass the rear portion of the downtown businesses extending to the Portage River.
The proposed hours of operation for the DORA would be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days per week. Exact boundaries of the DORA are illustrated on a map, which is available for public inspection at the village’s town hall building during regular business hours.
Following the public hearing, village council will proceed with the first reading of an ordinance to establish the DORA.
Including the green-lit designation of Oak Harbor’s DORA application this past summer, the following locations also have DORAs: Bowling Green; the downtown areas of Perrysburg, Sylvania, Toledo, and Elmore; Adams Street in Toledo; Levis Commons; and Main Street in Port Clinton.
Safety council input
The village council’s safety committee previously met several times about the matter, including with local business owners on March 11 to gather input, opinions, and feedback regarding the proposed DORA. Topics of discussion included: general support for and interest in establishing the DORA, the proposed boundary area, safety and enforcement considerations, logistics related to official DORA cups, signage requirements, and potential impact on surrounding businesses.
Susie Rahe shared feedback from additional conversations with local business owners who were unable to attend the meeting, including Todd Sheets of Beeker’s and Bobby Aspacher of Behind the Pines Yarn.
Rahe said Sheets indicated that he would like consideration given to suspending the DORA during parades, while she said Aspacher emphasized the importance of ensuring that public restrooms remain open, inquired about the placement of additional trash receptacles throughout the village, and asked whether business owners would be permitted to prohibit DORA beverages inside their establishments.
What is a DORA?
Per the Ohio Department of Commerce website, a DORA is a specified area of land that a local legislative authority, such as the Pemberville village council, has designated as exempt from certain open container provisions as laid out by Ohio Revised Code Section 4301.82.
Within those boundaries, patrons can purchase an open beverage containing alcohol from an on-premises liquor permit holder, such as a bar of a restaurant, and leave the premises with the drink and continue consuming it.
While the law places certain restrictions on DORAs, the decision of whether to create one, including its size, how many should be created, its hours of operation, what cups are used, or any health, safety, and sanitation plans when the DORA is in effect are all locally-controlled decisions.
