Fairhope to consider 'Downtown Entertainment District'

By Crystal Cole
Posted 8/30/16

Several downtown bar and restaurant owners recently asked Fairhope’s city council to consider creating a ‘downtown entertainment district’ that would allow patrons at some places to carry …

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Fairhope to consider 'Downtown Entertainment District'

Posted

Several downtown bar and restaurant owners recently asked Fairhope’s city council to consider creating a ‘downtown entertainment district’ that would allow patrons at some places to carry alcoholic beverages with them as they walk around downtown Fairhope.

Council President Jack Burrell said the requests came after Alabama’s ABC Board recently reprimanded several local businesses with fines after some their patrons left with beverages during events like First Friday Art Walk.

Burrell said he could be open to the idea but added he didn’t want downtown Fairhope to turn into “Dauphin Street in Mobile.”

“I don’t know that Fairhope wants to be known as that kind of place,” Burrell said.

Still, Burrell said it was idea at least worth looking into to help protect downtown businesses.

“We should comply with the law and if we make it legal to walk down the street with a beverage, we shouldn’t have to worry about violating the law,” Burrell said.

Mayor Tim Kant said that to the best of his recollection, the law regarding taking beverages with you has only been a problem during special events.

“The only time I hear it’s a problem is during Art Walk or maybe a Baldwin Pops concert,” Kant said.

Burrell told the council that because of Fairhope’s population and classification, the laws that govern creating such a district are confusing.

“We are a Class 8 municipality, but we’re not located in a county with a Class 3 municipality so the rules are different for us,” Burrell said. “We don’t even qualify for an Entertainment District without a Main Street organization, an arts council or a downtown development entity.”

Some council members seemed to be in favor of the move, but asked for more information on how the city could accomplish that goal.

“I think something like this could help protect the businesses,” Councilwoman Diana Brewer said. “But we don’t have any of the organizations we’d need to qualify to have a district like that.”

Burrell asked Sherry Sullivan to study the matter and come back with her recommendations.

Sullivan said she felt an arts council would perhaps be a good fit for Fairhope.

“An arts council makes the most sense for us as a community,” Sullivan said. “It would mainly just be looking at the logistics for setting up an operation like that and seeing what it requires to run.”