BARGERSVILLE, Ind. — Bargersville residents may soon be able to carry and consume open alcoholic beverages while passing through the city’s downtown.
The Bargersville Town Council approved an ordinance during Tuesday’s meeting for the creation of a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area. The measure was approved in a 4-0 vote.
DORAs are areas where anyone 21 years of age or older can purchase alcohol in marked containers and carry them out of the designated zone. The marked beverages can only be bought from participating businesses in DORA.
Kris Wilson, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said passing the ordinance was only the first step in the process of bringing a DORA to downtown Bargersville. The DORA won’t be official until the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission approves it. No official timeline was provided on when that decision could take place.
The proposed DORA boundary includes the intersection between Old Plank Road and Main Street, the intersection of Old Plank Road and 111 N. Baldwin Street, the intersection of 58 E. Old South Street and Old South Street, the intersection between Old South Street and 14 W. Old South Street, intersection of Plummer Avenue and 98 N. Main Street and the intersection of Overlook Drive and 158 N. Main Street.
If the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission approves the DORA, residents will be able to purchase alcoholic beverages at Taxman Brewing Company, Cellar’s Market, Up Cellar and Pizza & Libations and move around the DORA’s specified zone in downtown Bargersville.
According to the passed ordinance, some businesses within DORA may not allow open containers or any beverages inside their store premises. However, residents can enjoy their alcoholic beverages anywhere in the DORA boundaries as long as they were purchased from a designated permittee or vendor.
Any business that is interested in becoming permit-holders to participate in DORA is instructed to submit a Bargersville DORA Retailer Application that the town must approve.
A person may not walk away from a designated permittee or vendor with more than two open containers at a time, the ordinance said. For beer or flavored malt beverages, the containers can be no more than 16 ounces while residents cannot have more than 12 ounces of wine or 10 ounces of hard seltzers or mixed drinks in their open containers. For liquors, no more than two ounces is allowed per open container.
Designated vendors and permittees must pay a $200 sanitation and public safety fee to help the town adjust for additional costs related to increased police monitoring and enhanced sanitation measures. Businesses must pay the fee by Jan. 31 every year while vendors must pay no later than 10 days before a planned event.
DORAs have also been approved in Westfield while Carmel announced that it would introduce a new proposal allowing residents to consume open alcoholic beverages in its downtown area at a council meeting on July 1.
