PANAMA CITY — City commissioners have agreed restaurant patrons should be able to leave the bar with a drink during some special events.
Merchants have been fined for allowing customers to leave their establishment with alcoholic beverages, though street vendors are permitted to sell alcohol on city streets during most festivals, causing confusion among their clientele. Many have complained to commissioners.
During a meeting last week, commissioners unanimously agreed to send a bill before the Florida Legislature designating two areas in the city as “Entertainment Districts.”
“When there is a Friday Fest or other event, when the streets are closed, beer and wine can be sold on the streets but restaurants cannot allow their patrons to buy an alcoholic beverage and walk off the premises to consume it,” Nevin Zimmerman, city attorney, told commissioners. “This may result in a loss of business.”
The designation would apply to state licensed restaurants in the two areas and only when streets are closed for festival events in one of the entertainment districts.
The first area includes the downtown section of Harrison Avenue and the second includes areas of Beck Avenue and Bayview Avenue in St. Andrews.
“This does not give the patron with an alcoholic beverage the ability to walk outside of any business with an alcohol license at any time,” said Jeff Brown, assistant city manager. “They can only walk outside if there is (at least one) permit holder.”
The areas designated in the resolution drew scrutiny from commissioners wondering why it should only apply to those two areas.
“We’ve got growing communities and they may come up and want to do something similar,” said Commissioner Ken Brown.
Brown did not identify a specific area, but an amended special act can be sent before the legislature when that area is determined with little issue, according to Zimmerman.
“The unique part of this act is not having entertainment districts,” Zimmerman said. “The unique part is not requiring existing restaurants who already have an alcoholic license to get another license.”
Several cities in Florida have more than six entertainment districts, and in those cities restaurants have to get a special license for each event. Panama City’s bill allows for any licensed business to let customers to walk outside to drink alcohol.
The city also is expecting to construct development pads in its Marina Redevelopment Project for commercial businesses. Commissioner Billy Rader requested the city marina property be included as part of the Entertainment District.
“If [the bill] passes, you could come back with an additional entertainment district and it would be pretty routine,” Zimmerman added.