East Lansing’s Downtown Development Authority is pushing for the creation of a social district, but city councilmembers are wary—pointing to past issues with open alcohol downtown during the COVID pandemic.
The social district within the Albert EL Fresco would allow people to buy alcohol from neighboring restaurants and bars and bring drinks outside into the pedestrian space.
While the DDA says a community survey shows people want to be able to drink while enjoying a concert or event there, City Councilmember Mark Meadows has reservations.
“ I see the enforcement and monitoring as a very, very difficult thing for us to accomplish … There's nothing that prevents me from taking that cup home unless there's somebody you know, stationed all around the downtown area that, you know, puts the nab on me," he said during a council meeting Tuesday night.
Police Chief Jennifer Brown says it didn’t go very well in 2021 during the last time the city tried open alcohol rules around Albert Avenue.
“From a historical perspective, the one year in which there was alcohol allowed, from my understanding, there was significant problems and that was associated with individuals not purchasing the alcohol from the restaurants and bars that wanted to benefit from that, buying it from 7/11 or another liquor store and putting it in the cups.”
The Albert EL Fresco was created in 2021 in response to social distancing concerns during the pandemic. It has come back every summer since, though with a smaller footprint starting in 2024.
DDA Executive Director Marcia Gebarowski says limiting open alcohol hours could help with enforcement.
"We're also leaning on the ability that should there be any concerns of public safety, City Council does have the ability with one public hearing to rescind the district and shut it down," she said.
The City Council hasn’t rejected the social district idea outright but is asking the development authority for more detailed safety plans and data.
WKAR's Maxwell Howard spoke with Gebarowski about the proposal.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: While East Lansing’s Downtown Development Authority is advocating for a new social district, city councilmembers are skeptical.
The proposed district in Albert EL Fresco would allow nearby restaurants to serve alcohol that patrons could take outdoors into the pedestrian space.
WKAR’s Maxwell Howard spoke with Marcia Gebarowski, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority.
Howard: I know that EL Fresco has been open for outdoor dining during the summers for some time now. But what prompted the idea to establish it as a social district?
Gebarowski: I think over the years since the establishment of Albert EL Fresco, the [Downtown Management Board] staff does community feedback and … I noticed that there was always the feedback of "We would like to see a social district. We would like the opportunity to have a meal and to have a cocktail or a beverage while participating in the activities."
And then there's other interests from city leadership, whether it's to do other things with the social district, but certainly, wanting to start it small because, again, this is the first time that the city is considering establishing one.
Howard: My understanding is that the social district will allow people to carry open containers with alcohol, presumably from the local restaurants surrounding the district. What, in reality, will that look like?
Gebarowski: So, the legislation through PA 124 of 2020 enables a community to establish the boundaries of where open alcohol can be consumed. And the beverages that can be purchased from the eligible businesses also have to go through a separate permitting process with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. So, there is a lot of oversight. There is a lot of training and education for a business to have the ability to get a social district permit.
One of the requirements is that the cups have to be intended for one-use only. So, the most common, we see in communities are just like a clear plastic cup. They do have to have a distinct logo on them. Having this would enable someone to enter into a restaurant that would be able to provide a beverage in that special cup for you to take outside.
It does not mean you can go in and get any cup of any alcohol and then bring it into the district. It has to be in that cup. And as we've proposed that, those cups would also indicate the name of the establishment where they got that beverage from.
Howard: Do you think there's a possibility of safety or security risks with open alcohol, especially in the proximity of some of the bars that are popular with the college crowd?
Gebarowski: That is always top of mind, and it is hard to compare the success of other social districts across the state and enforcement and the lack of issues compared to the uniqueness of East Lancing and our downtown, given the proximity to Michigan State. I think what we are relying on is the ability to control the hours in which open alcohol can be consumed.
If we feel that 10 o'clock, it might be too late, and that there might be, you know, that population shift and our downtown between maybe 8, 9 or 10 p.m. We're also leaning on the ability that, should there be any concerns of public safety or that we're noticing that this just cannot be enforced, City Council does have the ability with one public hearing to rescind the district and shut it down.
And so, the legislation does give a lot of that control, and it can be done very quickly if we do see that this is something that really can't be enforced. Obviously, we're hoping that that's not the case.
Howard: Marcia Gebarowski is the executive director of East Lansing's Downtown Development Authority. Thanks for joining me.
Gebarowski: Thank you.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.