By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Update: Per Councilman and Platting Committee member Mark Makeever, the committee will be drafting legislation in reference to outdoor dining and alcohol sales. Some of the details include outdoor dining from April 1 through Nov. 1, last call for outdoor alcohol sales at 9 p.m. though the patron can continue drinking in the outdoor area until 10 p.m.
No decisions may have been made, but the Platting Committee started setting guidelines for outdoor retail sales and dining Tuesday afternoon.
Armed with packets of legislation, proposed guidelines, examples, and timelines, Bucyrus City Council Platting Committee members Steve Pifer, Mark Makeever, and Bill O’Rourke attempted to find a satisfactory solution for outdoor retail, dining, and alcohol.
Bucyrus City Council passed an ordinance in February allowing sidewalk seating, but left the issue wide open when the committees overseeing the issue failed to provide any guidelines for the Board of Zoning Appeals, a five-member board tasked with approving such issues. A lack of guidelines and agreements for outdoor alcohol sales has also stalled the matter in committee.
Law Director Rob Ratliff will be drafting up guidelines for outdoor retail sales proposed by the Platting Committee, which included up to 6 feet of sidewalk space for pedestrians, proper insurance, and cleanup requirements. The committee also decided that outdoor retail sales should take place during normal business hours and the sale items could not be left out overnight.
Acknowledging that some businesses may want to add benches, Pifer, Makeever, and O’Rourke agreed that benches should be provided by the city at cost in order for the downtown to be cohesive and to avoid a multitude of conditions that would need to be met by business owners.
Ratliff’s draft will be brought back before the Platting Committee for further review.
The committee then delved into the matter of outdoor dining, using the cities of Lakewood and Cleveland Heights as guiding posts. They reviewed conditional use permits, use-of-public-property agreements, fence and building permits, and Ohio Division of Liquor Control approval for alcohol sales.
Bill Wert, a pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church, appealed to the committee to not approve outdoor alcohol sales.
“I’m not a city resident, but I’ve always been in this county. I represent a lot of people. We have a town – this is our town,” Wert explained. “I would just like to encourage you to consider two opinions, at least, before alcohol is allowed to be sold.”
Wert dug into his religious background, citing God’s opinion in his argument against allowing outdoor alcohol sales. He also referenced police, stating that alcohol was a factor in a number of arrests.
“We were kind of known as the drinking town,” Wert said of Bucyrus in the 1960s and 1970s. “That brought in the alcohol gang. One of the bars was bombed; one of them was burnt to the ground. I think we’re just opening the door, maybe not immediately, but eventually, for a lot of trouble on the downtown streets.”
RELATED CONTENT: Outdoor alcohol consumption issue takes tiny step forward | O’Rourke criticized for not attending meeting on alcohol issue | New option presented for outdoor alcohol consumption | Bucyrus City Council unanimously passes outdoor dining ordinance | Downtown outdoor seating stalls in committee | Public supports outdoor dining in downtown Bucyrus | Community speaks out on outdoor dining issue at City Council |Councilwoman speaks out against outdoor dining issue | Bucyrus City Council committees debate outdoor dining |Spread of roach infestation brought to Bucyrus City Council