Pickerington considering establishing a designated outdoor refreshment area

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) – The City of Pickerington is considering establishing a district where residents and visitors would be permitted to drink alcoholic beverages outdoors. 

In July, Pickerington City Manager Gregory Butcher submitted an application to create a DORA, or designated outdoor refreshment area, to the city council for review. The DORA would encompass 52 acres in Olde Pickerington Village.

The council plans to hold a public hearing to receive feedback on the DORA proposal in early September, according to a city clerk.

Providing an exception to open container laws, the proposal would allow those who are 21 and older to purchase alcohol from participating businesses and consume it while walking around within the DORA’s boundaries. 

The application lists establishments that would be within the drinking area’s boundary and may choose to participate, including Combustion Brewery and Taproom, Bob’s Backyard Barbeque and a Local Cantina that is currently under construction. 

Participating businesses within the DORA boundary would serve alcoholic beverages in “plastic bottles or other non-glass containers,” the proposal states. Ohio requires participating businesses to serve alcohol in specific, branded cups. 

State law does not allow people to bring their own alcohol into a DORA. It also requires municipalities to post signage to alert people of the DORA’s boundaries and mandates city councils evaluate their DORAs every five years to either approve their continued operation or dissolve them. 

Retailers within a DORA that do not participate may allow or disallow drinks inside their establishments, and typically have window signage specifying their rules. Patrons are generally barred from taking a drink purchased at one DORA participant's establishment onto another participant’s premises. 

While Ohio maintains these regulations for DORAs, each has its own characteristics, such as operational hours, along with branded signage and cups. Pickerington’s application, which the city provided to NBC4, does not specify proposed hours or what branding would look like for cups or signage. 

Ohio legalized designated outdoor drinking areas in 2015, and they have since spread to more than 150 locations across the state. The programs are approved by local legislative bodies, such as city council or township trustees.

If approved, Pickerington would join multiple other central Ohio areas that have a DORA in place, including Bexley, Downtown Columbus, Dublin, Gahanna, Grove City, the Arena District, Hilliard, Worthington, Powell and Westerville. The City of Reynoldsburg also established a DORA earlier this summer.