DAYTON — Dayton City Commissioners voted unanimously to expand the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) Wednesday morning.
Tony Kroeger, Dayton’s Planning Division manager, told News Center 7 that even though the new ordinance is in effect, that doesn’t mean you can get an alcoholic drink downtown yet.
“We need the state to do their job,” Kroeger said.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Dayton city commissioners one step closer to approving DORA expansion
The ordinance must go through the state and the Liquor Control Commission.
“The wheels are turning and we hope to get this kicked off in mid-June, if all goes as projected,” Sandy Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, said.
In the meantime, Gudorf and the Downtown Dayton Partnership will be working to print signs, talk with businesses, and make sure the new DORA district is ready to go once that final approval comes in.
“We’ve talked to cities all over the state of Ohio, looked at best practices looked at what were some things that didn’t work so well. So we believe that we have a solid plan in place and not only for our guests to come down and enjoy, but also we want to make sure that downtown remains clean and people feel comfortable,” she said.
A DORA oversight board including Dayton Police and the public works department is also being put in place. Gudorf said they will meet on a quarterly basis to review how the new district is working and what changes they may need to make.
>>RELATED: Residents, workers say expanded DORA would be good for Downtown Dayton business
As part of the plan, the city’s current DORA district in the Oregon District will be dissolved and reincorporated into the new district.
News Center 7 previously reported the new district will be “roughly bounded” by Wilkinson Street to the west, Riverscape MetroPark and the Great Miami River to the north, Keowee Street to the east, and Sixth Street to the south.
The goal of this larger area is to help businesses downtown continue to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The real reason, primary reason that we want this expansion is to help our small businesses,” Gudorf said.
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