Staff photo / R. Michael Semple ... Youngstown Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, stands along West Federal Street in downtown Youngstown in September, ahead of a public hearing on a proposal to make a large portion of downtown a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area. A DORA would permit restaurants and bars there to sell alcoholic beverages for outdoor consumption. On Wednesday, the state approved the designation.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Ohio Division of Liquor Control has approved the city’s request to designate 34.4 acres downtown as a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area to allow businesses to sell alcoholic beverages for outdoor consumption.

The first day for the DORA will be Dec. 6 to coincide with the city’s annual holiday parade and Christmas tree lighting.

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said, “This is one more exciting step toward creating a dynamic environment (downtown) that people want to visit and will bring a windfall by helping increase traffic for our businesses, attract events to the Covelli Centre and amphitheater and bring needed tax revenue to the city.”

City council Oct. 16 approved seeking the DORA designation from the state after a Sept. 25 public hearing and a council resolution passed Aug. 28.

The DORA would require alcohol to be sold in specific plastic cups 4 to 11 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays. Special hours of DORA operation are permitted in advance by the mayor with the consent of council.

The DORA location includes nearly all of downtown, including the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre.

“The DORA is a creative way to help develop the sense of community, help our businesses succeed and help market our city,” Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, who represents downtown, said.

The state has approved DORAs for more than 160 communities in Ohio since they were legalized in 2015. Austintown established a DORA in May on Patriot Boulevard that includes Biker Brewhouse, Quaker Steak & Lube and Cracker Barrel.

“Outdoor refreshment areas have been an effective tool for driving additional business in other communities,” Nick Chretien, executive director of the Economic Action Group, which helped the city with the DORA designation, said.

“This is one step, not the last, in supporting our local bars and restaurants,” Chretien said.

The city and EAG worked with businesses, the police department and other downtown stakeholders to ensure that DORA operates smoothly and safely.

In a July 23 letter to city council and administration officials, Douglas W. Ross, attorney for the owner of Avalon Downtown Pizzeria, 17 W. Federal St., wrote the business was opposed the DORA and wouldn’t participate.

EAG will have people in the DORA keeping an eye on potential problems. If there’s an issue, a police officer would be called.

Police Chief Carl Davis has said there is a “robust plan to increase police patrols during the DORA,” even if that means paying overtime to police officers.

Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber, said, “As we looked toward how to strategically grow our downtown district, implementing a DORA became an obvious choice. Providing additional opportunities for our businesses through the DORA helps to create an environment that is ripe for continued growth.”

The city’s downtown businesses have been hit hard during the past few years, starting with the pandemic. That was followed by three years of street improvements that closed sections of downtown for several months at a time, a partial demolition and asbestos abatement project at the city-owned 20 Federal Place on West Federal Street, Eastern Gateway Community College on East Federal Street going out of business and the May 28 gas explosion and subsequent demolition of Realty Tower on the city’s Central Square that still has some streets closed.