With summer in full swing, the city of Roswell is hoping to get more people outside by extending its open container laws to include two popular parks.
Historic Roswell Square and the Heart of Roswell Park are both in neighborhoods that already allow restaurant patrons to carry out alcoholic beverages, but current city ordinances prohibit anyone from bringing their libations into the parks.
Councilman Mike Palermo wants that to change. He’s proposed that visitors be allowed to carry up to a 16-ounce beverage into the parks between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. He says incorporating the two parks into the already-existing restaurant districts would be good for business and bring more visitors to the area.
“Today, it’s very popular when there are sponsored events at the square, but that’s a few times a year,” Palermo said. “Outside of that, it’s not the destination that a lot of residents would like it to be. Residents really want to see it be re-energized.”
He says the area has been overshadowed by Canton Street, a block filled with restaurants and boutiques that's home to popular events like Alive in Roswell. Canton Street was the first recipient of an alcohol carry district designation back in 2015.
Jon Simmons, a bartender at Zest on Canton Street, says he hasn’t seen any drawbacks to serving customers carry-out drinks. It has helped keep the restaurant from getting too crowded when there is a long wait for tables, and he hasn’t noticed any more disorderly conduct than before the ordinance passed. He thinks allowing people to take their drinks down to the park is a no-brainer.
“Parks are for recreation and drinking is a recreational activity for many people,” Simmons said.
But residents in this north Fulton city of 94,000 shouldn’t make a toast just yet. Some worry that boozy outings could ruin the park for families and others who prefer not to indulge. The Roswell Parks Commission fears this change could be a slippery slope into unregulated drinking in other city parks.
“If you look to Marietta or Athens, they don’t permit it except for specially permitted events,” said Steve Stroud, who sits on the Parks Commission and also runs an economic development firm called Roswell Inc. As a local business advocate, he supports extending the open container zone, but as a parks commissioner he’s a bit more cautious. “I won’t say that it’s right or wrong, but if the Marietta Square doesn’t allow alcohol on a regular basis, why? We’ve not had enough time to vet it out, in my opinion.”
A public hearing on the proposal will be held at the Adult Recreation Center, 830 Grimes Bridge Road, on Tuesday, June 28, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The mayor and city council are expected to take a final vote on the measure on July 11.
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