Another reason Cincinnati's dying.

Garrison Hilliard wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

It's those damned Baptists taking over. And this, in a city that was once booted out of the National League for eight years for refusing to halt the sale of beer at ball games. (Okay, so that was in 1880.)

DB

Technically, beer gardens are breaking the rules Planning commission working to fix the code

By Gregory Korte Enquirer staff writer

Beer gardens and outdoor patios at bars and nightclubs are as Cincinnati as Oktoberfest and goetta.

But under a glitch in the city's zoning code, they're verboten.

The Cincinnati Planning Commission undertook to fix that Friday, as bar owners and neighborhood groups argued over new regulations for outdoor drinking.

Outdoor patios were allowed in the zoning code from 1963 to 2003. A code change two years ago - while allowing outdoor dining - did not specifically address outdoor drinking.

The city's Zoning Board of Appeals has ruled the code doesn't allow liquor establishments to serve outdoors - although beer gardens and patios that existed before 2003 were grandfathered.

A proposed change in the code would allow new establishments to have outdoor drinking, but many tavern owners protested that comes with too many restrictions:

Hours are limited from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, or until 11 p.m. on weekends.

No more than 25 percent of the bar or nightclub's space may be outdoors without specific approval of a city hearing examiner.

Outdoor drinking areas must be 300 feet from a residentially zoned area.

Planning Commission Chairman Caleb Faux noted that "300 feet is a long way."

"Not if it's through your bedroom window," said Hyde Park activist Carl Uebelacker.

The restrictions were inspired by the case of R.P. McMurphy's, an Oakley bar that's rankled neighbors for its rowdy patrons. Those neighbors went to the Board of Zoning Appeals to protest McMurphy's plans for an outdoor patio - and won.

"This is almost entirely the result of one case, where the community and an establishment could not come to grips with a situation," said Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell. "And that is very, very unfortunate. They're all being held hostage by this one situation."

Other bar owners say those restrictions could drive them out of the city, saying outdoor drinking is what makes their business in the summer.

The owner of Longworth's in Mount Adams said he's entertaining offers from West Chester.

Tom Ford, president of the Greater Cincinnati Hospitality Coalition, said an indoor smoking ban in the city seems inevitable.

If that happens, he said, outdoor drinking "will be even more important to cater to smokers. You really hate to lose business when someone goes outside to have a cigarette and doesn't come back."

In April, Cincinnati City Council opted not to follow the lead of cities such as Columbus and Toledo in passing an indoor smoking ban. Anti-smoking activists are pushing for a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants by 2007.

The Planning Commission took no action Friday because it didn't have a quorum. Tarbell, the council representative to the commission, has not yet been reappointed and his vote is in legal limbo. The commission has scheduled a special meeting next Wednesday.

"This is something we're trying to fix and trying to fix as soon as possible," said Faux, who also chairs the zoning appeals board. "Our intent here is not to stifle business - in fact, our intention is to correct an oversight in the zoning code that is stifling business today."

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