Muncie approves three ‘designated outdoor refreshment areas’ around social hot spots

The Muncie City Council has approved three “designated outdoor refreshment areas” in parts of the city.  IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports.

As introduced at last month’s city council meeting, designated outdoor refreshment areas, known as DORAs, were created by a state law.  This will let people leave a bar or restaurant with an open container of alcohol in a special cup and walk within the district, between the hours of noon and midnight.

Muncie has named three zones – one in downtown, one in the Village, and one in the McKinley neighborhood surrounding Elm Street Brewing.

The Yorktown Town Council approved this DORA in August 2023 and it was approved by the state. (Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission)

Yorktown adopted the second DORA ordinance in the state last year.  Town manager Chase Bruton says it allows the town not to have to put up moveable fencing for outdoor concerts.  He also says the four businesses involved know the rules and have been self-policing.

“We have not had a single incident in our DORA that was alcohol-related this year.”

Muncie Police Chief Nathan Sloan says there have been very few problems with alcohol downtown already and he’s “in favor of trying it.”

“You’re talking about people who spend, maybe, $15 on a mixed drink, right, and all of a sudden, you know, their group wants to go from this bar to the other.  Well, what happens, right?  You slam that drink and now you’re out the door, and get another drink somewhere else.  If we can slow down that process, maybe they’re even going to drink less, I don’t know.”

Becca Rice, Ball State University Vice President for Governmental Relations and Industry Engagement, says the university and its police department are also in favor of DORAs.  The district in the Village business neighborhood will include the university’s planned Performing Arts Center and its attached hotel.

The ordinance was adopted 7-2, with Republican Jeff Green and Democrat council president Jerry Dishman voting no.  The two also voted no on the ordinance’s introductory reading, saying they had concerns about public drunkenness around families also using the areas.

The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission will now need to approve the DORA districts.  Then, businesses wanting to take part will need to apply with the city Board of Works for a special license.