Soon, the city of Danville may allow outdoor sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages within specified areas and time frames.

This is in hopes to increase opportunities for events and festivals without additional paperwork and licensing it currently requires for events, said Bridgette Lester, director of codes enforcement/ABC administrator.

The city commission on Monday unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance for an entertainment destination center, a specified area in which alcoholic beverages can be sold and consumed outdoors.

Lester said should the ordinance get a second approved reading, the next steps will be that the city will need permission from the Boyle County Fiscal Court to include Constitution Square in the planned licensed area, the city will put an advertisement in the Advocate-Messenger for the license application and the city “will apply to the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for the licenses approved by the city commission.”

The planned boundary for the EDC is downtown on part of Main Street and parts of intersecting streets including the arts center district, main street block district, alley district, 2nd Street district and downtown district.

“The EDC area will act as an overlay district where it is permissible to take alcoholic beverages out of restaurants or bars within the EDC that is active into the common area and into other ABC licensed premises within the EDC area if permitted by the licensee,” Lester said about what the EDC would allow for. “This does not allow anyone to leave an establishment with an open container when the EDC area is not active, but, when certain conditions are met, it will allow certain licensed businesses to interact with festivals or other events going on at their doorsteps.”

One thing of note is that the city would need to block off certain streets should an EDC area be activated, “for safety purposes to limit any conflict with the pedestrian and vehicles,” Lester said. “The application process will dictate where and when roads will be blocked which currently happens through a Special Event Permit submitted to the Police Department.”

To put the EDC into place, Lester said the city will need to wait to take applications until the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control issues the licenses, which can be issued “no earlier that 30 days from the date of the newspaper advertisement required in the license application,” though she said most applications take closer to 60 days to process.

“Once the licenses are issued the City can start taking applications to request an activation of an area for a festival or event,” Lester said.

She said when an EDC area is active, those who want to sell alcohol outdoors will still need appropriate licensing.

“Some licensees such as distilleries, microbreweries, wineries have mobile licenses and can set up in an activated area if approved to do so,” she said. “Other licensees may need additional licensing such as a supplemental bar licensing if they wish to have a second bar outside in the festival or event area.”

In addition to the first reading of the ordinance for the EDC on Monday, the commission also unanimously approved a second reading of an ordinance for a zone change at 1695 Lancaster Road for approximately 30.8 acres from agriculture and highway business to light industrial, making the zone change now official. The property owner requesting the change is LMD Holdings, LLC.

This piece of property is just one small segment of a much larger, approximately 15-year distillery development plan by Luca Mariano distillery, headed by founder Francesco Viola. With this 30.8-acre tract, he plans on using it for rickhouses.

The unanimous, 5-0 vote came after a meeting April 12 during which the commission initially denied the zone change request 3-2, then approved it 3-2, with Mayor Michael Perros and Commissioner Denise Terry as the dissenting votes both times.

Perros said he changed his mind because he feels more comfortable knowing water and sewer plans and concerns will be addressed at the site plan level, as well as any geographical concerns that may arise.

Terry said her previous decision was not “political” or “personal” but that she was more concerned with the process by which the city commission handles zone changes and the inconsistencies between them when it comes to development conditions and other factors. She raised a concern also brought up during the April 12 meeting that zone change processes on the city commission level may require review and revision by the city.

In other business, during the meeting:

• The City Clerk, Ashley Raider, announced to the commission that the city had received several letters from the Presbyterian Church of Danville and Centre College administrators and students regarding the statue of Captain Robert E. Logan, a Confederate soldier, which the institutions want moved into Bellevue Cemetery. These letters were not read aloud during the meeting but were given to the commissioners to review and made part of the meeting’s record. The Advocate-Messenger submitted an open records request asking for copies of the letters to review.

• The commission unanimously approved the deed and settlement statement for acquisition of Jennie Rogers now that it has approval from the Kentucky Department of Education to acquire the building.

• The commission approved a second reading of the Economic Development Authority Interlocal Agreement it is working on forming with the Boyle County Fiscal Court.

• The commission unanimously accepted a proposed paving list from City Engineer Josh Morgan to mill and pave Cunningham Way and Kim Avenue. The city will contract the work with the Allen Company using the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Master Agreement, and the cost will be approximately $94,310.

• City staff submitted a request for a fee proposal from Joseph & Joseph Architects to design, administer and construct a First Responders Memorial Plaza to be located between City Hall and the upcoming new Central Fire Station. To construct it according to desired plans, this will require a $22,500 fee increase to the existing budget for the station. The city commission unanimously approved the fee proposal.

• The city commission proclaimed May as Mental Health Month.

• The commission made the unanimous decision to approve the first reading of an ordinance for a zone change at 128 Wilderness Road for approximately 0.05 acres from two-family residential to central business.

• The commission unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance for a zone change at 0 2nd Street for approximately 3.5 acres from two-family residential to commercial business district.

• The commission appointed Nicole Cacciatore and AnnYager McCrosky to the Streetscape Committee and Larry McGee and Michael Mingey to the Cemetery Committee.

• Following an executive session, the commission made the following decisions: accepted the resignation of Carroll Reardon from employment with the city in water distribution, approved the promotion of Aaron Rainwater from patrol officer to police sergeant, approved the recommendation to hire Mary Hardin as a telecommunications officer, and approved the termination of Mark Greenwell from employment with the city.