Expand<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nGustafson said the ordinance is intended is to assist downtown and Meriam Park with that experience, and, in essence, city staff think a little bit of alcohol in people\u2019s systems can help them \u201cshop a little bit extra in the (entertainment) zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to enhance all the gathering spaces, opportunities (and) really support economic development, increase foot traffic, create some vibrance in these particular areas, encourage people to stay longer and visit multiple businesses,\u201d Gustafson said.<\/p>\n
The ordinance will allow people 21 and older to possess open containers of alcoholic beverages in entertainment zones, on the condition they will wear a wristband, stamp or other visible verification marker.<\/p>\n
Gustafson said Chico\u2019s ordinance is modeled from Redding and the city would adopt a list of \u201cdo\u2019s and don\u2019ts\u201d to be placed inside restaurants.<\/p>\n
Only standardized, non-glass, non-metal containers compliant with the state\u2019s Alcohol and Beverage Control guidelines would be permitted by the ordinance. Gustafson said single use cups are to prevent people from bringing their own alcohol into the zone.<\/p>\n
He the zoning is allowable through Senate Bill 969 which went into effect Jan. 1, 2025, and Chico\u2019s ordinance is expected to come into effect Sept. 18.<\/p>\n
Chico isn\u2019t the first to have an entertainment zone in California. It joins other cities with established entertainment zones including San Francisco which has about 20 entertainment zones; San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, Long Beach and Redding.<\/p>\n
The planned Downtown Chico Entertainment Zone spans mostly from Highway 32 to Lost Park; and the Meriam Park Entertainment Zone is enclosed by Springfield Drive, Alcott Avenue, Notre Dame Boulevard and East 20th Street.<\/p>\n
Gustafson said the university representatives were met, and the city will start off with a small area because it\u2019s new to this, and the boundaries could be adjusted in the future should businesses in south downtown Chico wish to participate.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven post COVID \u2026 purchasing behaviors have really changed to an online situation, and what we really have to do is focus on creating an experience that will attract folks to come down to enjoy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Council comments<\/h4>\n
Councilor Bryce Goldstein said she remembers when COVID-19 lockdowns \u201cnearly killed\u201d all of Chico\u2019s music scene, and said she has met many people who have said, \u201c\u2018I wish we could bring our beers outside like we used to be able to.’\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that she thinks the zones would make more people spend time in Chico\u2019s commercial areas, while Councilor Katie Hawley said that she thinks the zones are one piece of a larger issue supporting local commerce.<\/p>\n
Police Chief Billy Aldridge said he thinks the ordinance will add no extra calls for services and that he sees no kinds of issues being a problem.<\/p>\n
Resident Barbara Hanson didn\u2019t want the council to vote yes because she said Butte County ranks high in the state for cirrhosis and liver disease related to alcoholism, and suggested \u201cwe assist (in) sober curious behavior by discouraging practice that encourages free alcohol use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jen Rothenwander, a representative of Meriam Park, said she supports the zone and is excited for opportunities it can offer, including more public seating to sit with a beverage rather than crowding sidewalks; increasing private security; and installing signs to make legal consumption of alcohol easy to understand and follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see it as an investment in what Chico could be \u2014 a community that feels more alive, more welcoming and more worth sticking around,\u201d said Rothenwander. \u201cAnd when people stick \u2019round longer, they shop, eat and spend, which means growth for local small business that make this town special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Molly Kopta, president of Chico Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks that the ordinance isn\u2019t about alcohol nor about creating new businesses, but rather it makes a reason for people to \u201cspend more time supporting the businesses we already have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople rarely visit just open business. They meet friends \u2026 enjoy live music, brows local shops, stop for dessert, grab a cup of coffee,\u201d Kopta said<\/p>\n
Councilor Mike O\u2019Brien said he thinks Chico has had a \u201cunique relationship with alcohol over the past few decades\u201d and that he \u201clived through some of that uniqueness.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that Chico State students used to overdose on alcohol often, but \u201cwe\u2019ve gotten past that; we\u2019ve made great strides,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The City Council approved the ordinance in a 6-0 vote with an addition to make reports about the zones available every year, rather than biennially.<\/p>\n
Other business<\/h4>\n
The council also made the following moves:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Direction to the Internal Affairs Committee to discuss options for the city\u2019s residential and commercial solid waste agreement with Waste Management.<\/p>\n
\u2022 A resolution vacating a piece of public utility easement at 1075 Via Verona Drive.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Amendments to the city code clarifying requirements for developers building underground utilities and street lights.<\/p>\n
\u2022 An agreement with the Chico Area Recreation and Park District to enhance Garner Lane with frontage improvements before the opening of the district\u2019s future water park.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.chicoer.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICO \u2014 After years of regressing public alcohol consumption in Chico, the city appears to be making a move back towards its \u201cfun\u201d days. With heavy emphasis on economic opportunities rather than \u201cparty time,\u201d the Chico City Council approved an ordinance establishing entertainment zones in downtown Chico and Meriam Park, where customers could carry approved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2503170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[454863,22691,395859,461478,21741,308544,22764,21738,37713,343509,454865,22482],"class_list":["post-2503169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-butte-county","tag-california","tag-chico","tag-city-government","tag-entertainment","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-northern-california","tag-sacramento-valley","tag-things-to-do"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chico-council-OKs-downtown-Meriam-Park-entertainment-zones-\u2013-Chico.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2503169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2503171,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503169\/revisions\/2503171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2503170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2503169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2503169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2503169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}