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The Flats East Bank could be home to Cleveland's first "outdoor refreshment area," under legislation passed Monday by City Council.

(John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Flats East Bank is one step closer to becoming Cleveland's first "outdoor refreshment area" - a designated district where bar and restaurant patrons can drink alcoholic beverages outside, without running afoul of the city's open-container laws.

Cleveland City Council on Monday passed legislation establishing an application process for areas of the city that wish to get the designation and are home to at least four venues with liquor licenses.

Within the designated area, the city's open-container laws will not apply, as long as someone is carrying an alcoholic beverage sold in a plastic bottle or cup by one of the district's licensed sellers. An earlier draft of the legislation contained a provision allowing someone to drink inside a car as well, provided the vehicle is stationary. But that provision was struck Monday.

Under the recently passed state law allowing for the outdoor refreshment areas, Cleveland can only set up a maximum of two such areas within the city. And city officials indicated during a Council of the Whole meeting Monday that, so far, only the developers behind the Flats East Bank project have indicated an interest in acquiring the designation.

City Council will have final say over which applications are approved and will be required to review each outdoor refreshment area on an annual basis to determine whether it continues operating as such.

Some council members said the legislation seemed rushed, and they wondered if city officials were trying to pass the piece in time for the Republican National Convention in late July.

Cleveland Economic Development Director Tracey Nichols said the only rush is that summer is nearly here, and postponing a vote on the piece until the next council meeting in July would further prolong the application process and limit Clevelanders' enjoyment of the new outdoor refreshment areas.

Other council members questioned whether the Flats would be an ideal location for an open-container zone, given the ordinance's requirement that the zones not include features deemed potential hazards to pedestrians, such as a waterfront, railroad tracks or steeply graded hills.

Nichols said the city would have to wait and see what area the Flats' application includes.

City Councilman Mike Polensek said he is concerned about safety and security in the outdoor refreshment areas and their perimeters. He suggested that each of the designated zones hire its own off-duty police officers to patrol, rather than tap city resources and distract the city's officers from their routes.

"This is not an entitlement," Polensek said. "This is a privilege. ... And with that privilege there should be some stipulations with regard to safety and security. If not, this will come back to bite us."