The JAX Chamber is saying “cheers” to a proposal to allow a restricted form of legalized drinking on the Downtown Riverwalk.
The chamber issued a statement Jan. 12 in support of Ordinance 2023-0863, which would create state-sanctioned “specialty centers” on the Northbank and Southbank where alcohol can be purchased and consumed.
The proposal sprang from a Chamber-sponsored trip in 2021 to Tampa, which created specialty centers along its riverwalk.
“We need to continue to look at ways to activate the riverfront downtown, and this is a simple addition that can give people one more way to enjoy downtown,” JAX Chamber President and CEO Daniel Davis said in the statement.
“It’s important that we look at things that have been successful (in) other places and when we see something that works, as we did in Tampa in 2021, that we look for ways to replicate things that make sense for Jacksonville.”
The ordinance would require drinks to be purchased from a licensed vendor on the Riverwalk and carried in a specially marked container. Purchases would be limited to two 16-ounce containers.
During a December appearance by City Council President Ron Salem at the Cuppa Jax speaker series, Jeff Schembera, a resident of The Peninsula of Jacksonville condominiums on the Southbank, told Salem that he and others in the high-rise and neighboring properties are concerned that the ordinance could exacerbate problems stemming from public drinking around the Florida-Georgia and Gator Bowl college football games.
But during a Jan. 10 public hearing on the ordinance before the full Council, the proposal drew only one speaker, who was in favor of it. Jacksonville resident Pat Geer said he’d seen people enjoying similar zones in cities like Denver, San Antonio and San Diego, and he supported them.
The ordinance is headed to Council committees. If passed there, it would next be up for a final vote before the full Council.
This story has been updated to correct the alcohol cup size.