Hoover council OKs city's first 'open container' entertainment district

The Hoover City Council on Monday night approved the city’s first “open container” entertainment district in the Stadium Trace Village development off John Hawkins Parkway despite opposition from some residents.

Official entertainment districts, as set out by state law, are designed to allow people to carry open containers with alcoholic beverages outside bars and restaurants within a defined area.

Hoover has never had an entertainment district, but proponents on the City Council said this will be a great boost for economic development and the arts community.

Councilman Curt Posey, the council’s representative on the Hoover Arts Council, said the Arts Council loves the idea of the amphitheater planned by the developer of Stadium Trace Village.

“We think this would be fantastic to have — a fantastic amenity for the arts within the city,” he said.

Councilman Casey Middlebrooks said an entertainment district will help foster Hoover’s “live, work, play image” and bring some cultural amenities that many residents have been seeking for a long time.

Five council members — Gene Smith, John Lyda, Mike Shaw, Middlebrooks and Posey — voted in favor of creating the district. Councilman Derrick Murphy abstained, saying he would like to give the police chief more time to review and consider the merits of such a district, and Councilman John Greene voted against the district.

'SETS THE WRONG TONE FOR OUR CITY'

Greene said the open container provision of the entertainment district sets the wrong tone for the city and could too easily allow underage drinking because people could purchase alcoholic beverages inside restaurants and hand them to minors once away from the restaurants.

Also, this location is not far away from Hoover High School, other schools, neighborhoods, churches and child care centers and therefore is not suited for an open container district, Greene said.

Stadium Trace Village currently is more of a family-oriented shopping center and not appropriate for an adult-oriented atmosphere, he said.

Nancy Carr, a resident of Trace Crossings, said having an amphitheater and entertainment is totally different than having an open container law. The nearby Hoover Metropolitan Complex is designed to be a family-friendly environment, and she thinks it would be tragic to have all those children coming out of that environment into an open container environment, she said.

“I think it’s dangerous,” Carr said. “I think we’ve had too many problems at the Galleria recently to encourage 21-year-olds to come to Hoover and walk around and drink. … I think it’s very poor judgment if we decide to do that.”

Wade Morgan, a Ross Bridge resident, said he worked in law enforcement for 25 years and “I see nothing good coming from this ordinance from a law enforcement perspective. It’s going to be near impossible to force people to stay within the zone and keep minors from having alcohol and being problematic."

Also, it’s much easier for someone to step into a vehicle with a drink in their hand and drive if they’re carrying it around in the open versus being under the watchful eye of a server in a restaurant who can better tell if someone has had too much to drink, Morgan said.

“That’s putting everyone else’s life at risk unnecessarily for the sake of a few dollars,” Morgan said. “I think it’s shameful that we’re even considering it.”

Susan Atwood, another Trace Crossings resident, said Hoover already has gotten a mark on its reputation because of fatal shootings at the Riverchase Galleria. Her children in Homewood won’t let her take her grandchildren to ride the carousel at the Galleria, and they weren’t impressed with the open container ordinance, she said.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

Middlebrooks said “it’s going to take individual responsibility to act appropriately, to drink appropriately and conduct oneself appropriately in these districts.” City officials will be watching and can rescind the entertainment district at any time if things get out of hand, he said.

Pat Lynch, a consultant representing the development company for Stadium Trace Village, said the developer and business owners have made a tremendous investment in this property and are not going to let problems arise. “They’re going to self-police,” he said.

People would not be able to carry “cans, bottles or glass containers” with alcoholic beverages off the premises where they are bought, according to the proposed ordinance. The idea is to have plastic cups, Lynch said.

One different aspect about the Stadium Trace Village entertainment center is that each open container would have to bear the logo from the restaurants or bars in that district or the logo of the district itself, Lynch said. People could not bring alcoholic beverages from outside the district for consumption within the district, and people would not be able to purchase an alcoholic beverage at one location and carry it into another establishment, Lynch said. The idea is for the beverage to be consumed outside, he said.

Parking lots have been excluded from the boundaries of the district, as were many of the businesses that don’t sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, such as ALDI and the UAB medical clinic.

No would be able to carry an alcoholic beverage open container that exceeds 16 fluid ounces, and no one would be allowed to exit any of the premises with more than one open container, according to the ordinance.

The police chief or his designee would have the authority to close any entertainment district or require that people disperse from the area if he believes it is appropriate to do so to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare.

The district would remain closed until the police chief, mayor or City Council allows it to reopen.

AGGRESSIVE ENFORCEMENT

Smith said police officers and/or private security will aggressively enforce the open container rules. “If somebody comes in there and does the wrong thing, then our plan is to catch them,” he said.

Greene said sometimes you don’t get a second chance when it comes to mishaps involving alcohol.

Atwood said one of the restaurants in Stadium Trace Village already is not complying with COVID-19 requirements, so she doesn’t trust the city to enforce the open container laws.

Middlebrooks said he thinks some people have an incorrect image of what this district will be like. There are no nightclubs in Stadium Trace Village right now, and those are the type establishments that tend to attract a younger crowd that might not have the wisdom to conduct themselves properly when drinking.

Morgan said his experience as a law enforcement officer showed him that it’s not just younger people who act irresponsibly when drinking. Most of the DUI citations he wrote were for older adults in their 40s, 50s or 60s, he said. Younger people were more likely to get someone to drive them, he said.

Shaw said entertainment districts are allowed by state law, and other cities have them. This location is not in the middle of the Trace Crossings neighborhood, but rather on a main road, so he doesn’t have a problem with it, he said.