Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Entertainment district approved for Fort Smith
FORT SMITH — The Fort Smith Board of Directors adopted an ordinance Tuesday establishing a permanent entertainment district at The HUB at Chaffee Crossing.
Six of the city directors voted in favor of the ordinance while At-Large Position 5 Director Robyn Dawson voted against it.
Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman wrote in a memo that this will be the first permanent entertainment district designated in Fort Smith.
“There are current and ongoing discussions regarding at least two more that may be brought to the board for approval in the future,” Dingman wrote.
Arkansas Act 812 of 2019 permits cities to establish permanent or temporary entertainment districts, Dingman wrote in a memo to the board.
Since the legislation, cities in different regions of the state have been creating entertainment districts, including Mountain Home, El Dorado and Little Rock.
Besides Fort Smith, the only other major city in west Arkansas with an entertainment district is Fayetteville, which opened last month what it calls the Outdoor Refreshment Area, covering 160 acres and operating from 10 a.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week, said Devin Howland, Fayetteville’s director of Economic Vitality office.
“We wanted to enact a district that was more emulative of Savannah rather than a small concentrated area such as a Bourbon Street,” he wrote in an email last week.
“If the goal was a party road, it would run late rather than ending at 10 p.m. Its frequency in making it a ‘norm’ also de-intensifies it. It would be ‘special’ if it was only on the weekends. These two characteristics work to enable businesses to make safer sales due to the pandemic, and patrons to spread out. We have noticed from our observations that it is not the college age residents engaging with the Outdoor Refreshment Area; rather, it is the young professional to adults utilizing it.”
The Springdale City Council is considering a proposal presented late last month by the Downtown Springdale Alliance to create an Outdoor Dining District. Jill Dabbs, executive director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance, said in an email “that we are branding this entertainment district as a dining district and not a party district.”
Rogers does not have any formal proposals under review, said John McCurdy, director of Community Development for the city.
“There is, however, some interest in exploring the possibility of creating one or more entertainment districts along the I-49 corridor,” he said in an email last week.
“What is driving interest more than anything is a desire to allow people to safely gather outside during the pandemic.”
Fort Smith, the state’s second-largest city, had already established a temporary entertainment district at The HUB via an ordinance adopted March 17, which could be enacted through the city’s “special event permit process.”
The March 17 ordinance, which also established a temporary entertainment district in downtown Fort Smith, states that both were to be activated with a special-event permit upon the city administrator’s approval for a specific period of time.
Under the ordinance adopted Tuesday, alcoholic beverages lawfully sold by an establishment in The HUB can be consumed within the permanent entertainment district and adjacent public rights-of-way. All such beverages will be in a paper or plastic cup no larger than 16 fluid ounces, with the name or logo of the establishment or event being commercially or professionally printed onto it.
Alcoholic beverages in bottles, glass or cans are not permitted for sale or consumption outside of establishments in the entertainment district, the ordinance states. Possession of more than one alcoholic beverage by a person at any time is forbidden, with the consumption or possession of one also not being permitted in or on a vehicle parked in any public right of way in the district. The district’s physical boundaries will be clearly designated with pavement markings and/or signage.
“This will allow for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at outside events within the property/ district,” Dingman wrote. “No special event permit would be required for the entertainment district to be active, it would always be active.”
The Facebook page for The HUB describes it as a “modern, master-planned community of residential homes, multi-family housing and commercial space” located in Fort Smith. In a formal request to City Administrator Carl Geffken, Rod Coleman, chairman of the Rogers-based ERC Holdings LLC, owner and developer of The HUB, said the company would like to include exactly the boundaries of the temporary entertainment district already in place in the desired permanent entertainment district.
“After working on layouts within and outside the restaurant and [determining] future marketing and sales plans, we feel that The HUB, its occupants and patrons would benefit from a permanent entertainment district designation,” Coleman wrote. “Our plans include outside patio dining and quarterly block parties for the residents of The HUB and Providence Addition, and this would facilitate these activities while not having to apply 45 days in advance every month or so.”
Ward 1 Director Keith Lau said that the board has discussed topics such as promoting community and outdoor activities, walkability of neighborhoods and bringing people together so that they can “be part of that community.”
“And I think the intent is not, by any means, to create a beer garden at The HUB,” Lau said. “This is about promoting a sense of community, having a place where you can come up and listen to some music, get a glass of wine, go out and listen to the music out on some lawn or maybe in a courtyard.”