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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRedding Farmers Market plays live music<\/p>\n
Redding Farmers Market plays live music<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/story-highlights> Adults could be free to stroll through parts of downtown Redding with a glass of wine from a permitted restaurant as soon as mid-October.<\/p>\n The Redding City Council approved the creation of a downtown entertainment zone \u2014 one where people ages 21 and older can drink and carry open containers of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages purchased from authorized restaurant and bars \u2014 on public sidewalks and streets.<\/p>\n The city council approved the plan in late August, following the California legislature’s authorization of State Senate Bill 969<\/a> last year. Starting in 2025, the bill allowed California cities to open entertainment zones within designated boundaries.<\/p>\n The move to create the zone met with positive response from most downtown business and property owners, Assistant City Manager Steve Bade said. Supporters hope it will stimulate Redding’s economy and bring more people downtown to eat, drink and shop.<\/p>\n The Redding Police Department’s downtown bike team will monitor drinking in the zone and other concerns like noise levels and over imbibing, Bade said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that it will be a novelty for a little while,” but “I don\u2019t see us turning into Las Vegas,\u201d said Post Office Saloon & Grill owner Leah Sullivan of people drinking on the downtown promenade.<\/p>\n While Sullivan doesn’t think being in the zone will fill her cash register daily, it might during events like the Lighted Christmas Parade. She pointed out her license to sell alcohol already allows customers to buy to-go cocktails they can drink on private property, so the ordinance would only make a difference for those who want to sip and stroll.<\/p>\n Redding police and restaurant owners will meet with the city next week to nail down details, including containers to mark permissible alcoholic drinks. \u201cWe have to have a certain cup that\u2019s easily identifiable by RPD,\u201d Bade said.<\/p>\n Here’s where the zone is planned, hours of operation and other information.<\/p>\n Bar, restaurant and other business owners met with the city last spring to establish parameters for Redding\u2019s entertainment zone.<\/p>\n The space would cover the downtown core, roughly from Eureka Way in the north \u2014 including Woody’s Brewing Company and The Shack, and to the west along Oregon Street to South Street where the area dips inward at Waldon and Lincoln streets. The south boundary encompasses Pourboys Tapyard. The zone\u2019<\/strong>s east border is along the Pine and East streets alley.<\/p>\n The city will post signs around the entertainment zone so people know not to wander out of its boundaries with open drinks, according to planners.<\/p>\n Adults ages 21 and older will be allowed to carry and drink alcohol from licensed vendors within the zone daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n Shutting down the zone at 10 p.m. will minimize \u201clate night disturbances,\u201d Bade told the Redding City Council in August.<\/p>\n Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself<\/a> or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.<\/em><\/p>\n No, only approved drinks purchased from zone restaurants and bars, and sold in specified containers, are allowed on zone sidewalks and streets.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to think they can meander into a parking lot and tailgate,\u201d Bade said.<\/p>\n The ordinance also doesn\u2019t mean people can bring drinks into other downtown businesses. The Cascade Theatre and other restaurants don’t allow customers to bring any kind of food and drink not purchased on their premises, and some clothing and other stores don’t allow them at all.<\/p>\n The city manager\u2019s office and Redding Police Department will submit a report to the city council 6 months after the zone opens.<\/p>\n At that time, council members will look at any concerns involving noise levels, safety and security, downtown traffic congestion and any other problems, Bade said.<\/p>\n Other California cities opened entertainment zones or are in the process of doing so, including Santa Clara and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n San Francisco opened several entertainment zones, including one on Front Street between California and Sacramento streets. \u201cPeople can enjoy their drinks outdoors in plazas, sidewalks, or streets while experiencing creative programming like live music. These zones can support local businesses, spur economic development, and create a festive neighborhood atmosphere,\u201d according to San Francisco city’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight\/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories.\u00a0Follow\u00a0her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic<\/a>\u00a0and on Facebook<\/a>. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal<\/a>\u00a0, Today in Shasta County<\/a> and Shaping Redding\u2019s Future<\/a>. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n
Where in downtown Redding will the entertainment zone be?<\/h2>\n
At what times will Redding\u2019s downtown entertainment zone be open?<\/h2>\n
Does this mean people are allowed to drink any alcoholic beverage in public in the zone?<\/h2>\n
What if crime or noise levels go up? Can Redding City Council change its mind?<\/h2>\n
What other California cities have entertainment zones?<\/h2>\n