The Carmel City Council voted 7-1 to approve a designated outdoor refreshment area in which alcoholic beverages may be purchased at participating vendors and carried in a designated open container throughout the zone.

The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission will have the final vote on approving the DORA. City attorney Sergey Grechukhin said it is unclear how long that process could take.

DORA boundary — Carmel’s proposed DORA. (Map courtesy of the City of Carmel)

The DORA will generally stretch from just north of Main Street to Carmel Drive and from west of the Monon Greenway to just east of Range Line Road. DORA hours will be from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Councilor Teresa Ayers, who voted in favor of the DORA at the Aug. 5 council meeting, said she believes it will be good for the local economy.

“We have such a walkable city, and this does help businesses and restaurants, especially for people who are coming in from out of town,” Ayers said.

Beverages must be in cups marked with a DORA sticker to aid enforcement. Per state law, alcoholic beverages from outside the DORA may not be brought into it. That means events held in the DORA that currently allow alcohol from home to be consumed – such as summer concerts as the gazebo at Carmel City Hall – would no longer be able to legally permit any libations not provided by DORA vendors.

Several councilors said Carmel police use discretion when enforcing ordinances and would not be likely to proactively search for violations among those not causing disturbances or problems. But that led Councilor Anita Joshi to vote against the measure. She said the city choosing not to enforce part of an ordinance could lead to unintended consequences.

“I think you open the door to that conversation when you say we are going to pass an ordinance that restricts people’s freedom to bring their wine to city events, as they have done for the last 10 years, and then you are relying on the fact that we’re not going to enforce that,” Joshi said. “I have a hard time with that fundamentally.”

Individuals or businesses that violate the ordinance could face a $250 fine.

If approved by the ATC, the council will appoint a DORA District Committee, which would provide updates on the district to the city council at least twice a year. The committee is set to include two mayoral and three council appointees and one appointee made by the Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation board, a Carmel Police Department officer, an employee of the Carmel Street Department and a OneZone chamber of commerce appointee. All members of the committee must be Carmel residents.

Businesses that have applied to participate in the DORA are Fork + Ale House, 101 Beer Kitchen, Anthony’s Chophouse and 3UP, Bazbeaux, Monterey Coastal Cuisine, Wine and Rind, Hotel Carmichael, Penn & Beech Candle Co., Savor, Social Cantina and Hanami Sushi and Sake Bar and Muldoon’s.