Fulton County Ohio Media

On Monday, November 14^th, the Swanton Village Council voted unanimously to approve the Third and Final Reading of an ordinance that will create a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) in the vicinity of N. Main Street and Zeiter Way in downtown Swanton.  In the State of Ohio, a DORA allows visitors aged 21 and older to consume alcoholic beverages outdoors and in participating businesses within the area’s boundaries, during designated hours, and according to DORA rules. 

This legislation will officially become law 30 days from the final approval.  Village officials have begun to work on DORA documentation required by the State of Ohio and will be posting signage identifying the DORA boundaries and a list of state-regulated DORA rules.  Two drinking establishments currently located within the Swanton DORA, Benfield Wines and Hub’s Bar and Grill, have been given the go-ahead to order DORA-labeled drinking cups.  It is estimated that the DORA will not become active until sometime after the first of the year.

The new legislation is the culmination of a many-months effort by several downtown Swanton business owners to establish a DORA with the hopes of generating more foot traffic in the Main Street area and increasing economic activity downtown and the Swanton community in general.

“The main reason we asked for the DORA was because our liquor license only goes to the edge of our building.  Because we don’t own the sidewalk, we weren’t able to put tables and chairs outside.  We wanted to be able to offer our customers seating outside, which they asked for,” said Julia Benfield, co-owner of Benfield Wines with her husband Rob.

Ms. Benfield spoke of occasionally hosting social events in the DORA to bring more people downtown in addition to the Downtown Market in the summer and the Art Walk.  “We would like to be able to do events with Hubb’s, behind us, such as closing Zeiter and doing block parties with music and things like that,” she said.  “There are a lot of events we could utilize the DORA for to bring more people here to Swanton to then shop in the shops and patronize the businesses.”

When DORA laws were first enacted in Ohio, many smaller communities such as Swanton did not qualify to participate in the economic-incentivized legislation, until March of this year.  “I think we are lucky that the State of Ohio changed the rules to allow villages our size to be able to even think about having a DORA.  I think we are lucky we have this opportunity and hope we take advantage of it,” stated Ms. Benfield.

One of the concerns that was voiced by some residents during the many discussions at Council meetings was how often the DORA would be utilized.  “In my conversation with mayors throughout the State of Ohio, one of the things that they say it (DORA) is really beneficial when you have any kind of outdoor events like an art or music event.  It just makes it a much more congenial and fun activity.  They also say that the DORAs are seldom used or activated, even though they are in place, people don’t go walking around with their drink unless there is some kind of activity going on,” explained Swanton Mayor Neil Toeppe.  “They all say it is very beneficial when there is some kind of an event going on, that it draws more people in.  So, there will be more activity once the DORA gets put in.”

As the boundaries of the DORA are currently set, the overall area is less than half what was originally proposed in the initial legislation.  After the public hearing was held, a compromise was reached between the Village and some of its concerned residents, leading to a down-sized area.

“The size of the DORA we have established is very small right now.  We’re really looking at one corner of Zeiter Way and Main Street,” said Mayor Toeppe.  “Hopefully, we’ll see this small foot print we have for the DORA will generate no problems and then it can be looked into for expanding.”

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) stipulates that all aspects of a municipality’s DORA must be reviewed every five years.  However, the ORC also gives each community the authority to review and modify its DORA at any time.  It was also pointed out that many local communities have not reported any DORA-related concerns and have or are looking to expand their boundaries.