Good evening, everyone. It is 05:30PM on Tuesday, 11/25/2025. Welcome to the rules and public policy committee meeting for the city county council. We're in the Public Assembly Room. We'll start our meeting this evening with, introductions of our council on the first row, councilor leader Maury. Thank you, mister chair. Ryan Maury, District 25. Thank you, mister chairman. Paula Neay, District 22. Thank you, mister chair. Ally Brown, District 10. Thank you, mister chair. Renee Allen, District 15. Thank you, chairman. Andy Nielsen, District 14. Maggie Lewis,
District 5. And I'm Leroy Robinson, chair of the committee representing District 1. We do have three items on our agenda this evening, and the first step step is proposal three forty three twenty twenty five, directs the rules and pop public policy committee to review and prepare a report pertaining to the fiscal impact statement associated with the Marion County Public Defender Union agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Electrical Workers Union, Local Union four eighty one. Who is speaking to this? And Jenny, you wanna come forward, please, and or state your name, please? Hi. Good evening. My name is Jake McVay. I'm,
deputy controller with the Office of Finance and Management. I have a few slides on Proposal three forty three. So as a reminder, Municipal Code Section two ninety one- Mr. McVay, is your mic on? Is my microphone on? Perfect. Thank you. So as a reminder, Municipal Code Section two ninety one-six 10 requires that the controller prepare and present a fiscal impact study before a union agreement can become fully effective and enforceable. So negotiations with the union began last summer and a tentative agreement was reached earlier
this October signed by both the union and the city. This contract covers the attorneys and support staff of the Public Defender Agency for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Salary adjustments for these employees were implemented as of the November 21 paycheck to be be effective 01/01/2025. It was necessary to implement the contract when we did so that we can ensure the pay increases happened within it shows the components of the contract that directly impact an employee's paycheck and includes
base salary, seniority pay and the premium pay for certifications. The union agreement sets base pay schedules for attorneys and support staff to be effective January 1, then a 3% increase to salaries as of 01/01/2026. This table breaks down the total pay components from the fiscal impact statement by attorney and support staff. These numbers also include increases to perf and other fringe benefits. We used we based our calculations off of two twenty three current employees,
that's 137 attorneys and 86 support staff. The average increase for attorneys is 24.6% and the average increase for support staff is 18.1%. I do want to note that the total line from this table differs from the total line in the fiscal impact statement submitted to this committee. The difference is the estimated increases for student loan and professional fee reimbursements. The student loan reimbursement in this contract mirrors the same reimbursement program offered by the Prosecutor's Office.
And then this contract will also provide reimbursement for annual attorney, notary, social worker, and interpreter registration licensing fees. And then we based our estimates off of assumptions on which attorneys and support staff would be eligible for these reimbursements. So next, I want to cover at a high level how we plan to fund this contract. Keep in mind that the financial proposals of this negotiation were tentatively agreed to based on projections of income and property tax growth prior to this year's legislative session and
SEA-one. So typically the full cost for the first year of a new union contract is not included in the budget based on the timing of negotiations and budget development. So OFM has addressed these first year union increases through fiscals at the end of the fiscal year. So like the other new contracts that began January 1, the PDA's budget includes cost of living adjustments for these union positions portion of the funding into the budget.
The difference between the COLA and the contractual increases in 2025 is addressed in the year end fiscal. This was proposal three forty two that was presented last Wednesday to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee. And then the 2026 budget also includes cost of living adjustments and that difference between the COLA and the total cost of increases will also need to be addressed at the 2026 through a fiscal ordinance. So a portion of this contract is addressed through the budget and the cost of
lien adjustments. The remaining costs will be funded by the 40% reimbursement the Public Defender Agency receives from the State Public Defender Commission and then the last component is the 2026 supplemental public safety income distribution, income tax distribution. So at this point in time, OFM is confident that we will be able to fund these increases while affording or adhering to our own fund balance policies. I also believe that we will be able to work collaboratively to ensure that we live within our means for 2026 and we'll be able to build this contract into
the 2027 budget. So with that, I, am happy to answer, any questions. Thank you, Deputy McVeigh. Comments or questions, counselors? Anyone in the audience could speak to proposal three forty three? Seeing none, you're maintaining motion. So excuse excuse me. Take a You don't have to go though. Oh, okay. Just accept it. Just just okay. So we're good? Thank you. Up next, proposal three fifty one twenty twenty five. Amends revised code of exotic city of Indianapolis, Marion County, by adding a new chapter eight twenty, establishing the creation of designated outdoor refreshment areas. Who's speaking to this proposal?
Councilor Nielsen. Thank you, mister chairman. With your request, with your consent, I'd like to hear I'd like to present both on three fifty one and three fifty two, subject to a couple of amendments that I would offer after the presentation if that works for you. The motion or just with consent, councilor? Yeah. Just just so that works for you for process wise. Thank you, sir. Okay. Thank you, members of the rule. Thank you, members of the rules and public policy, committee. Tonight, we are gonna hear two proposals, proposals three fifty one and three fifty two, as amended. I will walk through those specific amendments in the presentation as well.
As first, and not to be overly repetitive in this presentation, but the reason that we have two proposals is, because the City Of Indianapolis does not currently have a regulatory framework for designated outdoor refreshment areas in our city. So proposal three fifty one, establishes the rules and processes for all potential DORAs in the city of Indianapolis. And proposal three fifty two establishes the specific rules and processes for a proposed Dora in the neighborhood of Irvington, which is in District 14.
So again, this would be, the Irvington Dora would be the first door in the city of Indianapolis, not the first in Marion County. There's one in Speedway. And then if a future community, and working with its counselor, wanted to bring forward a, Dora proposal, this committee or a relevant committee would just see one proposal. So part of the reason why we're doing this together is because we have been starting from square one in this process for the city of Indianapolis. Next slide, please. So by way of background, a DORA, again, a designated outdoor refreshment area, allows individuals who are at least 21 years old to purchase alcoholic beverages from approved
vendors and establishments and carry them outside to be consumed within the DORA boundaries. The DORA statute, again set by the state, requires that the city adopt an ordinance establishing the DORA that will be submitted to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. And the DORA has to include a number of components: a map of the refreshment area, the boundaries of the refreshment area, the location of proposed designated permits and temporary vendors, a statement that the refreshment area is consistent with municipal zoning ordinance, the number,
spacing, and type of signage to be used, and the dates and hours of operation. And an important note on doors is that there can be no more than seven doors established in a given municipality. So for the consolidated city, with our, four excluded cities, Right? Each one of those excluded cities could have seven DORAs. And the city of Indianapolis can have seven DORAs. So the DORA allows an individual to walk in and out with a beverage in a designated area that they,
that the business themselves may not be selling. So next slide, please. DORS are also consistent with existing open container laws. So DORS are a natural extension of existing state law that allows individuals to carry an alcoholic beverage in its original container out of a premise, including an individual's own home and consume in public. So that includes if you were going to a liquor store or if you were going to, an establishment that allows carryout, you or your own home. So long as that, is in its original container,
you can go wherever you'd like in public. Additionally, original manufacturers of an alcoholic beverage are permitted to sell their products in open containers for public consumption under special event permits. So, if any of you have visited, our neighborhood during the Halloween festival, you will notice that there are a number of breweries who come and serve their products. And you can walk around the designated area under the special event permit with an open container because they are the original manufacturer of that product.
So DORA's streamline this process for brick and mortar businesses. It allows businesses in a designated area to do these other things. So next slide, please. There are 46 operating DORAs across Indiana. So what's also important to note is much of our proposals, both three fifty one and three fifty two, we have model legislation in 43 other communities. There are there are three communities that have two DORAs. So in 43 other communities, we have 43 other examples and 43 other datasets to indicate,
how these are working and how we design legislation accordingly. So next slide, please. So again, the first proposal, proposal three fifty one as amended, and we'll walk through the specifics of the amendment in a few slides. So this lays out the city process for internal approvals. So we really wanted in designing this and working really closely with the city on what we want the internal process to look like, we wanted to not create an an administrative burden on our city county agencies who are in charge of signing off on multiple of these, internal processes.
And we wanted to ensure that the district counselor has is the one leading the way way on these projects. That they are working with the business community and the community, but that they are the ones bringing forward proposals to the council to establish DORAs in their communities. So I cannot establish a DORA if three fifty one becomes local ordinance. I cannot establish a DORA anywhere else other than District 14. So 351, you as you read through this, establishes again, this is the internal process for how we do this,
the basic sets of rules that the ATC requires us to include. But a few things that I want to be I want to point out because I think it's very important. In the DORA, it does not allow for unlimited use or taking taking beverages in and out of of businesses. So listed here you will see that you can have a combination of these three volumes of beverage. Right? So 16 ounces of beer, 12 ounces of wine, a mixed drink no more than 10 ounces, two ounces of liquor, and some combination of two of those. So I cannot go into a designated permittee,
buy a dozen beers and walk out with them. I'm only permitted to do two of those things. Next slide, please. Signage must be posted on the exits exits of each designated permittee and within the public right of way of each pedestrian exit of the DORA. So what that means is that if I am a designated permittee and if I am selling alcoholic beverages, if I choose to participate in the DORA, then I have to have a sign at my entrance and my exits indicating that I am participating. And then there are signs placed around the borders of the DORA that say you
are now entering and exiting the DORA. And as I just indicated, no business is obligated to participate in this DORA. So that means we could go through this whole process of creating a Irvington DORA. No one could choose to participate. There's a whole secondary process after this, which we'll get to, that requires businesses at that point to say, We are going to participate in the DORA. And we've structured this that all costs must be covered by the applicant, by the business community. So, I think the business community sees this as an investment. I think we should see it as an investment,
but there's not an additional taxpayer burden on funding the signs and the trash cans associated with the DORA. And we've also built in, some penalties in the event that there are ordinance violations to any of these things that we've indicated. Right? And those are listed here, to provide an extra level of accountability, in these designated outdoor refreshment areas. So next slide, please. So, on your desk, there is an amendment to proposal three fifty one. And it does two things. We caught one little thing that it clarifies,
first, the sanitation plan is the on the responsibility of the applicant. We have that in three fifty two, but we also wanted that in three fifty one. And in working again, we worked very closely with the city on this. It provides for additional clarification on the use of glass containers in outdoor dining areas, but not in the Dora. So you may have a business in the Dora that has an outdoor patio. We wanna be able to allow those businesses to continue to serve maybe a beverage in a glass container, but that doesn't apply to the DORA itself. So you're still physically outside, but you're not participating in the DORA.
So we added some language that clarified that. Next slide, please. So that's three fifty one. So those are the rules that are again are going to apply to all seven potential DORAs in the city of Indianapolis. Now, you get to come to District 14 and we're gonna talk about a DORA in Irvington. So again, this establishes the rules and processes specific to the Irvington DORA. So, what's important is all the things we talked about in March, they apply, plus a whole lot of other things. So again, three fifty one applies. Trash. Designated permittees are businesses who choose to participate,
must install trash cans in front of their establishments, empty the cans, and maintain cleanliness around their business and within the door. The responsibility of keeping the community safe and the community clean is on the businesses. Safety. We have allowed IMPD, to have broad authority to intervene if necessary and establish additional rules should they be needed. They don't have to come in front of this council. They can unilaterally do that. We want to stay out of public safety officials' way if something that we do not anticipate would happen does happen. And these proposals don't attempt to,
nor can they, preempt ATC. It's a state a it's a state regulator. So ATC still has oversight and ultimate authority over any establishment in the DORA serving alcohol. Hours of operation would be functional and open during normal business hours. Again, these entrance and exit signs would be installed around the boundaries of the DORA and businesses again the designated permittees are required to have that sticker or that sign at the entrance and the exit of their establishment saying, Hey, we are participating. And other businesses, so maybe a retailer who's in the DORA,
right, may say, We want to participate. And we could put they could put a sign of their choosing on their establishment. And, containers and cups. So there has to be a standard cup used in the DORA and the designated permittees are to use a non glass, non plastic, and non breakable container. So next slide, please, Candace. So, the second amendment that we will consider tonight is, does a number of things. First, there was kind of a there's a clerical error. There was some numbering that you will see. I'm just getting that numbering right. But amendment two addresses community concerns and feedback related to the introduced proposed map and
the types of containers to be used in a proposed Irvington Dora. So the first map, and those will be some of the next slides, was the footprint of the Irvington Halloween Festival. We have now narrowed that down to just be the business district of Irvington. And so if you've been in if you've been to Irvington before, if you've participated and and contributed to our community in that way, you understand that there are two business districts, one on Washington Street, one on Bonne, and they're connected by Audubon Road. That is the DORA. So this residential inclusion has been significantly reduced and minimized to ensure the DORA still
remains functional, and signage language is revised accordingly. And, the business community has already made a commitment to use non glass, non plastic, and non breakable containers, I. E. Recyclable or compostable containers and this amendment formalizes that commitment. So this is already a commitment that our that our business community and show good faith to make this work has made this community commitment. This amendment just formalizes that. Next slide, please. So there has been a great deal of community engagement on this proposal.
We have worked in collaboration with the Irvington business community and community leaders to ensure a positive outcome for the neighborhood. In your packets, you have letters of of support from the Irvington Business Association, the historic Irvington Community Council, who represents who serves as the designated neighborhood organization for the neighborhood, the Irvington Development Organization, which is our local CDC. We also have had positive conversations, and letters of consent are coming from the Irvington United Methodist Church, the Irvington Presbyterian Church, George Julian School fifty seven. We've also discussed this in-depth with the IUMC Preschool,
the Irvington branch of the of the public library, and we've held two public meetings, one in September and one just last week of this year. Next slide, please. We also have been working very closely, again, with the city to ensure that this again, makes sense. That we have rules and regulations, a process, the boundaries conform to other local ordinances and to minimize administrative burden and allow individuals who are responsible for doing these things to do their jobs. This includes DMD, Business and Neighborhood Services,
for those in the audience that's formerly known as Code Enforcement, the Department of Public Works, IMPD, including both the administration and the East District Commander, the Office of Corporation Counsel, which is our which is the city's lawyer, and the mayor's office. Next slide, please. So, why a DORA in Irvington? The goal of an- of, DORA in Irvington is support- is to support Irvington's thriving Main Street and entertainment district by leveling the playing field, streamlining the regulatory process for small business owners in the neighborhood. Many of our small business owners who want to participate in this live in the
neighborhood. But specifically, it's gonna be a huge benefit for community events like First Fridays, the Irvington Halloween Festival, Irvington Pride, which is, from my understanding, the, only, neighborhood based pride celebration in our city, the holiday open house, and St. Patrick's Day, and daily operations. And colleagues, I want to be really clear on this next point. Establishing a Dora is not an attempt to create a bar crawl scene in Irvington. Why? It's not part of the neighborhood's culture. The community does not want that. Businesses do not want that. And as the councillor who represents District 14,
I do not want that. While there are a number of safety and accountability measures in place, ATC's ability to continue to regulate these establishments, IMPD's flexibility to step in at any given time and establish a safety plan that they see fit, code enforcement's ability to to, issue code violations and ordinance violations, and myself, I still also have the ultimate authority to introduce a proposal and rescind the door itself. So we I think it's important that all of these measures are in place.
The objective is not to create a bar crawl scene. And ultimately, again, if you've been to Irvington, you will know that this is a community that holds everyone accountable all of the time. So I also want to emphasize, because we are talking about serving alcoholic beverages, that we do not have a public intoxication or overserving problem in our community. That is why our community overwhelmingly is supportive of this. And you know why? It's because they trust our business community. That is the truth.
And so, I understand this can be a difficult topic at times, but I want to be really clear clear on what we're trying to do here and that is to level the playing field and the regulatory burden on our brick and mortar businesses in our community so they can spend their time reinvesting in our community, focus on helping our community grow instead of filling out paperwork and, paying the state permit fees. So next, yes. This was the, map that you would have seen in your, three fifty one when it was introduced. Excuse me. This was attachment A.
And then Candace, next slide. This is attachment B. Alright, attachment A revised. So again, we've cut out that kind of western gut of the original DORA. And to emphasize again, when you come to our community, this is how we connect the business district to itself already. The red border is the red, dash line is the border. Blue dots on the map indicate where those entrance and exit signs will be located. The green is location for temporary vendor locations.
And then the orange text are inclusive of all of the businesses in our district that have some sort of liquor license. Beer, wine, spirits are a combination of the three. So next slide. This is not necessarily required as part of the ordinance, but I just wanted to share with you all, like, how our business community is thinking about this. These signs and cups will eventually be revised, but just kind of an idea of what how other communities have done this and how our small businesses are thinking about this also. Next slide, please. So as part of the application process,
we also have to, again, we pass the proposal, and then we just kinda start all over again. And we go then to all these businesses, who may wanna participate, and we have them indicate, hey, I wanna participate. That receives city approval, and then that goes to the ATC in a package that also will include, consent forms from the two churches and, the school that are within 200 feet of the border. Of the door, excuse me. Next slide, please. So tonight, we hear this in public rules and public policy. This would go to the full council on Monday.
And then the timeline is a little unknown. Only because we have to take all those materials, we have to package them together, we submit them to ATC, ATC then reviews that, application, and after they approve that application, if they do, we work with, DPW to ensure that signs and trash cans are installed, and the businesses then have to put those again, those window cleans, those signs on their establishments. And then the door opens and becomes operational. In talking with the business community, once we kinda get to that final step, our objective is to kind of we see what the process may look like after
that. Kind of pick a date that we say that the that the door is operational so that we are communicating with our community that the door is now functional. So with that, Mr. Chairman, that concludes the presentation. And I'd be ready to offer amendments, if you are ready. Thank you, councilor Nielsen. Comments or questions from the reserve committee on these two proposals? Councilor Brown. Thank you. I just have one quick question, councilor Nielsen, as I'm looking at the map. So Audubon Road, that like, if I get a beer at at Jacquemus and I've decided I'm gonna go get
a cocktail at Strange Bird, I can walk down Audubon either side of the street and that'll be marked. That's correct. Okay. That's correct. Okay. Yes. Just wanted to double check. Thank you. That's been some of the back and forth and ensuring that, that would be compliant, in order to do that, yes. But that's correct. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Councillor Nielsen, for your presentation. Just a question of clarity. On Slide eight around safety, it says IMPD would have broad authority to intervene if necessary. Curious why you felt the need to put that in there because doesn't IMPD currently
have the authority to do that? Yes. Sorry. Thank you. Thank you, leader Lewis. So in the state statute, it it it provides the option for the the community in working together with IMPD to create a safety plan. But, one of the again, one of the points to emphasize is we don't have these some of these issues right now. And so there wasn't a need to put together a safety plan. But what we wanna be able to say is IMPD, if we get to the point, you know, hope that we're working together to solve any potential problems,
but we we're we're stepping out of your way. So no other regulatory burden is being put on the police department to comply with. Yes. So, yeah, maintains their broad authority. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Leader. Comments or questions from councilors on these two proposals by Councilor Nielsen? Anyone? You you ready for public comment? You got you want to do your amendments? You wanna do amendments before? Go for it. Yeah. So, mister chairman, I move to amend this is on proposal three fifty one, amendment to three fifty one. I move to amend section sections eight twenty dash one zero five and section eight
eight twenty dash one zero six of proposal number three fifty one twenty twenty five by adding the underlying language to reads as follows. And on page two, it is the language, containing, glass containers in the outdoor dining areas. I second. Motion has been properly moved and seconded. Comments from councilors? The train to any motion on the, second, do a roll call vote or on the amendment. Let's go and do it together. Do it one time. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Those opposed? Motion carried. Councilor Nelson. Thank you, mister chairman. You want me to go and amend proposal three fifty two now?
Correct. Okay. Thank you, sir. I move to amend, proposal three fifty two. I move to amend sections eight twenty-two zero two, eight twenty-two zero five. In eight twenty-two zero '9, a proposal with number three fifty two-twenty 25, by deleting the language that is stricken through and adding the underlying language to read as follows, updates our boundaries according to the updated map, updates signage according to our updated map, makes conforming changes to numbering, and makes the, container slash cuffs amendment that I mentioned in my presentation as well.
Motion will be probably moved and seconded to amend proposal three fifty two. Comments or questions from councilors on the amendment? Seeing none of the motion, we will be probably moved and seconded. All those in favor, just come up by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Those opposed? Motion carries. Councilor Nielsen. Thank you, miss, mister chairman. With that, I think we move on to to public comment. Thank you, miss Clerk. Do you wanna read the, statement for the public comment? Thank you, mister chair. Before we open the floor to public comments, we would like to remind committee members and the public of a few ground rules. So everyone can have a fair chance to speak and be heard,
it is important that we each observe the following rules. First, each speaker will be limited to two minutes. Second, any public comments must reasonably relate to the agenda item under consideration. Third, speakers who stray from the item under consideration or become unduly repetitious may be asked to move on to their next point or conclude their comments. Finally, attendees who cause disruptions that prevent the committee from proceeding through tonight's agenda in a reasonably effective manner will be removed. Please remember that some types of threatening speech or enticement to violence are not protected
by the first amendment at all. We will deal with those issues if they come up, but we do not think they will. And now, mister chair, if a committee member asks for consent to adopt these rules, we can proceed to public comments. Thank you. Thank you, miss Clark. Thank you, councilors. Miss Clark, do you have a list of those that signed in to speak to these proposals? Mister chair, we do have a couple people signed up. Read their names. We can hear your names. You wanna come forward, please? I'm gonna read the first couple. Thank you. Is that okay? Absolutely. Thank you. Carrie Shia, Derek Kendall,
Carrie Yazell. Thank you, miss Clerk. Sir, state your name for the record, please. My name is Carrie Shea, co owner of the snug. I'm reading a statement from my business partner, Jim Arnold, owner of the snug, who could not be here tonight. Go ahead. Good evening. My name is Jim Arnold, and I am both a resident of Irvington and one of the owners of the snug. I care deeply about Irvington and the small businesses that make it unique. Over the past months, I have had a chance to speak with many neighbors and business owners about the Irvington DORA. There have been many questions. As we have had the opportunity to explain and clarify the Dora, its support has been consistent and enthusiastic.
Irvington already has incredible festivals, events, and small businesses that give our neighborhood its charm, Allowing patrons to purchase alcoholic beverages from licensed establishments and enjoy them responsibly within the clearly defined area will help drive foot traffic, support local businesses, and create a more engaging and walkable environment. Communities across Indiana have seen clear benefits after establishing similar districts, and Irvington deserves the same opportunity to grow. Adora isn't about creating disorder. It's about creating opportunity. It's about supporting local entrepreneurs,
bringing more people into our neighborhood, and making our events even more successful. I encourage you to support Irvington's Dora. Thank you. Jim Arnold. Next. Thank you. Your name for the record, please? Yes. My name is Derek Kendall. I've lived in Irvington for more than ten years. And in that time, I've seen how hard it is for small businesses, not just to open their doors, but to stay open. I've watched wonderful shops and restaurants come and go, and I know how brutal that cycle can be for owners who pour their lives into this neighborhood. I've also attended every Halloween festival,
the St. Patrick's Fest, and just about every community event Irvington has hosted. And in all those years, I've consistently seen how responsible, community minded, and self policing our neighborhood is. We show up, we support each other, and we take care of our space. For me, bringing a door to Irvington is simply the next logical step in giving our small businesses an additional tool to thrive. When our small businesses succeed, it strengthens neighborhood vibrancy, walkability, safety, and the overall desirability of the East Side.
I understand that some people have concerns about alcohol. Those experiences are valid, and no one is here dismissing them. But policy can't be shaped around meeting the needs of every individual who has been impacted by alcohol, because that list is endless. What is harmful is when individual experiences are used to stifle innovation, hold back local growth, or create fear when it is not warranted. Irvington has proven time and time again that we can handle large crowds, celebrations, and open container events responsibly. We have a strong support system in place from businesses to neighborhood organizations that will
address any issues that arise. I wanna thank our city county councilors for their efforts to bring a door to Irvington and make the East Side a first in Indianapolis. I'm here today because I fully support it, and I believe our neighborhood is more than ready. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Your name for the record, please. Yeah. Hi. I am Carrie Yazzell. I am an Irvington resident as well. I'm also the director of the Irvington Halloween Festival and have been for the last six years. You have a letter of unanimous support from the Irvington Community Council, which is the organization that throws the festival each year.
But I wanted to share, as the festival director, how excited I am about the potential the Dora provides for the neighborhood and most importantly for our small businesses, who are such an important partners of the success of the festival. Each year, we welcome more than 60,000 people to our neighborhood. If you haven't come, you should. Put it on your calendar. We have not had any reported issues of public intoxication or unruly behavior in years, or at least that I've been aware of, due to a large part of the close partnership that we have with law enforcement and the hard work and attention of our small businesses. Our small businesses continue to be trusted partners and have demonstrated that they are invested
in the success and safety of our community. This proposal will allow them to benefit even more from the festival events. Irvington is an incredibly strong and engaged neighborhood, and our small business community is a large part of what makes that very, very special. We've been in conversation with councilor Nielsen for months now about this idea and how it affects and benefits the neighborhood, and in particular, the Halloween festival. I'm excited to stand in support of this proposal and very excited to see all of you at the eightieth annual Halloween festival next October. Thank you. Thank you. Miss Clerk, additional three more names, please.
Julie Waddell. No. I'm trying to. I'm just going to sign in, but Lynae Carroll, Kyla Thompson, Dave Garrett. Thank you, miss Clark. Welcome. Hello. Hi, mister chair, remainder of the counselors. Thank you so much for hearing this issue and having us tonight. I am Lene Carroll. I am a six year resident of Irvington. As someone who has poured time, money, and mostly heart into our historic home and neighborhood and whose house is on the border of the Dora, I fully support, this initiative. But I'm also here as the vice president of the Irvington Development Organization to speak on behalf of our support for the proposed DORA.
And I'd like to remind the members that you have a letter of our support in front of you. I do has been serving Irvington for over twenty years focusing on the nexus of community and business support. We have supported initiatives and led initiatives such as planning and funding our streetscape, getting Irvington accepted as the first main street for Indianapolis, and also most recently designated as a cultural district. These are big wins for our neighborhood and for our cultural corridor, and it's critical that the Irvington community continues to capitalize on this momentum. And we think the door allows for that.
IDO has worked with our businesses to responsible to responsibly roll out new ideas before. Our organization was at the front of advocating to bring the first brewery to our neighborhood, Black Acre, and we all grew to love that. We assisted in getting the first three way liquor license in the neighborhood, and the community did express concerns about these initiatives. But we listened and rolled them out responsibly. Since then, the residences have proven what an absolute asset asset they are to our neighborhood. And that leap of faith that our neighborhood took led us to the successes that we see today.
Residents from all over the city come to Irvington to dine at our award winning restaurants and bars and shop at our unique shops. Our streets are full of neighbors walking to get a bite to eat or meet friends for drinks. Our home values are improving and families are even moving back from the suburbs. This is because others are learning what us Irvingtonians already know and cherish. We are a community who looks out for each other and our neighborhood, and we are devoted to our history and our vibrancy. We are people who love to brag that we can walk to coffee, the library, and a handful of schools and multiple award winning restaurants. Is that me?
Okay. So for those reasons, this is why I do is confident that the store is the right way for the neighborhood and an opportunity to cut red tape for our small businesses to continue to thrive. Thank you so much. And your name, please? Hi. My name is Kyla Thompson. I am a thirty year resident of Irvington. And I have to piggyback on what miss Carol said and exactly what mister Kendall, just said to all of us. I I've seen a lot of changes come and go and happen in Irvington, all of them being positive,
especially when it comes to the businesses that are serving alcohol. I know miss Carol, just talked about the three way license. That was a huge, huge hurdle that we all crossed when that took place. A lot of, attitude was the sky is going to fall and there's going to be all kinds of people rolling around drunk in the parking lot. None of that's happened. None of those things have taken place in Irvington at all with any business ever that has been serving alcohol in the last twenty nine years. So I just wanna just reiterate and say,
councilor Nielsen has really, really put forth a lot of effort for all of this, for our community, for our businesses to be successful. And I think that he deserves all of our support, and I hope the city looks at us and supports us as well. Thank you. Thank you so much. Welcome. Thank you. My name is David Garriott, and I'm here with my wife, Susie. We have been residents of Irvington for thirty four years. We live in one of the old historical houses. We have been on the home tour twice. We have been heavily involved in Irvington as a community.
The I will point out that the original area of the Dora was over 50% residential, and the current area of the, the proposal with the amendment still goes down a residential section, which is Audubon Road. Next point. So why wasn't the community given time to express opinion? We've heard from other speakers that said, oh, we've worked on it for months. One of the owners, one of the business owners himself told me, we've known about this for a year. Early November is when a lot of us first heard about this.
The first public meeting that we attended was last Tuesday. So if there's a zoning request you've all seen those little signs that go out that say public hearing. We didn't have that for this. We are a historical area. If you have a historical change, you have to send out notices to neighbors, even the fire department, for them to come to a council So the council or so the next point is I will point out, that councilor Nielsen did say, express from the Methodist Church that,
that there was positive indication. I personally know that they have not given approval. They have not voted on it. A few more seconds, sir. Finish up. Okay. Yeah. So, one, why can't we do this as a special events, permit? Why does it have to be three sixty five? And the next point is our request is this be delayed at least sixty days to give the community time to talk about this, understand what's going on. You've heard a lot of people that have said, oh, we're for it, but the community has not had time to weigh in on this.
Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for your comments, sir. Miss Clark, do you have a few more names? Reuben and Vicky Flack, Neil Warner, and Julie Slaughter. Thank you so much. Good evening. My name is Reuben Flack, and I'm here because this DORA has been pushed far forward far too quickly and unfairly, in my opinion. Residents were not given real notice or time. A policy affecting an entire neighborhood was moved in about thirty days with no mailed notices, no flyers, and no direct outreach. Most people only heard about it through Facebook or word-of-mouth.
This is not transparency. This is advancing something before the public even knows it exists. The one neighborhood meeting that allowed questions gave our citizens just twenty minutes total for a change this large affecting families, schools, churches, and our library. The process has simply not been fair, in my opinion, and others as well. Second, enforcement, under this current proposal is impossible. Irvington already faces crime challenges at the East and North and have even higher crime. Expanding public alcohol consumption next to these areas without a funded enforcement strategy creates predictable
risk. Adding alcohol statistically increases crime by itself alone. A door requires daily monitoring of boundary compliance, cup misuse, intoxication, outside alcohol, littering, disorderly behavior, underage drinking, and drinking and driving. Yes, this proposal, yet this proposal includes no dedicated IMPD officers or no dedicated security. IMPD East District is busy. Without guaranteed enforcement, the burden falls on businesses and residents who are not trained to handle intoxicated or dangerous behavior. Adora without enforcement becomes a three sixty five day unmanaged alcohol zone.
Because notice was, inadequate, because enforcement is unworkable, and because this risk is significant, I urge you to recommend denial of this DORA. But if denial is not considered today, I ask for at least sixty more days for proper, more public input. And if approval is being considered, I request limiting the DORA strictly to major Irvington council approved events, not year round. This would drastically or reduces the risk while allowing participation during planned events. Thank you. Thank you for your comments,
sir. Next. Ma'am, you will come forward. Thank you. I only learned about the door project in Irvington, where I live, incidentally, from a short news network news broadcast around the November. I kept hearing the phrase, we will be proud. We have been working. We and we, and I wondered who the we was. I talked to my neighbors. None knew about it. For two days, I walked the business trip and talked to any owners or shopkeepers that were available and found only two knew of this project.
Some had heard the name, didn't know what it meant. It became clear during the most recent, community council meeting in Irvington why there had been no outreach meetings, flyers, mailings, etcetera, on the subject. Info and opinion were not, especially welcome. Why only support a few, businesses, many of whom the owners, do not live in Irvington, only seven selling alcohol? There are 11 residents, in Irvington. So that few out of 11,000. Also noteworthy is the scheduling of the pertinent meetings and hearings during the holiday season.
If working on it for such a long time, why now? The reason seems obvious. And why would we ask for an extension? The very reason we would ask for that. Hard to know how many people affected by this, proposition may not even yet know about it. I can speak from my own experience. I lost two wonderful family, neighbors this summer because of issues we already have in the neighborhood. I'm sorry if anybody doesn't like to hear that, but I know what happens where I live.
We have seen an increase in late night pedestrian traffic, theft, homeless problems, trash, including empty liquor bottles and cans. My neighbor adopted two blocks of our street and he could vouch for that. The last straw was gunfire in front of our house, our homes, last summer. It was the last straw for these couples. They planned to stay there, have their families there. We could get no police response. So it's hard to imagine how they're going to come and see to any violation
of the DORA rules. Also, I've seen the revised Ma'am, let's wrap it up. Wrap it up. Couple more seconds. Yes. A few more seconds. It's not my time's over? Yeah. You're fine. But just a few more seconds. Yes, please. Say what again? A few more seconds, please. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. Okay. Sorry. Thank you. There's a little reverberation here. I'm sorry. So we all have already have problems, and it's hard to see how more public intoxication can possibly help that. I've seen the revised district plan.
I don't think it'll take two minutes for people to figure out where the shortcuts are. That would be where I live, Julian And Johnson Street. You know, there's been talk about not wanting this It's finished up, ma'am. I'm done? Almost. Real quickly. Almost? Go on. It shouldn't be a bar crawl. The plan itself is facilitating exactly that. Okay. Thank you so much. We appreciate you for coming down. Up next, Ms. Clerk? Thank you so much, ma'am. Hello. My name is Neil Warner, and I started a restaurant in Irvington called Strange Bird in 2019.
And I've been living there since, well, I guess ten years or so. I support the DORA, and, I think it's important to recognize what it is and what it isn't. This is going to streamline the regulatory framework for businesses like mine during those big events. If you've gone to the Irvington Halloween Festival, you may have been confused that you could get a beer up on Washington from one of the, breweries that came into the neighborhood and walk around with that. But then you would go down to our friends at the Snug and have to
stay within some certain area with your, with your cup to do that. So, you know, another reason that I support this is and I wanna echo my friend Alicia, who couldn't be here tonight, who owns a record store across from us. The Irvington Dora, for us in particular at Strange Bird, it's gonna be helpful for some of those events, but we're particularly interested in the way that it's going to be able to connect us to our neighbors who also have businesses here in the community. Alicia has in indicated that she's interested in participating,
and so she can put a little sticker on the door that says, hey. If you wanna get a beer at the Snug or a cocktail at Strange Bird and come in here and shop, you can. And in that way, I view this proposal as something that enhances Irvington's, appeal to walkability, people, going from business to business and seeing what we have to offer in our neighborhood. I've been, really honored to see that that was quick. I've been really honored to see that Strange Bird has grown to have a reputation
beyond the neighborhood, and I'm really grateful to be able to tell guests when they come in, Hey, check out the rest of what the neighborhood has to offer, and this is gonna support that. Thank you so much. Thank you. May I have your name for the record, please? Yes. My name is Julie Swatter. I am a twenty six year resident of Irvington. And, I came here not necessarily to speak against the DORA, but just to ask for more time. And the reason I want to ask for more time is because in talking with about a number of the people in my neighborhood,
no one's aware of it. And I think, the fact that people aren't aware of it, they may feel blindsided. I think it's important that, the businesses that are concerned or, the individuals who would benefit from it, that they communicate with the neighborhood. We are a very tight knit neighborhood, but as I say, I've lived there many years and I lived in Irvington and moved to Irvington when we had issues with the Butler Inn and the Indy East and the reputation wasn't so great but it was always been a wonderful, wonderful community. And I think very quickly a reputation of a neighborhood can change And we don't
want that to happen with the concept of a DORA if people don't have accurate information and if they don't feel that they've had time to have input. The concerns I personally have are more data driven. Do we have data from other jurisdictions in state or out of state? Does this affect our homeowners insurance? Does this affect the values of our homes? What are those really, really important issues that do affect homeowners in this area and businesses? So I guess what I would need is where are the data where's the data
that helps us feel secure about this coming to our neighborhood? Because for many of us, the one big value we have, the asset we have is our home. So if if we can get that type of information, get that to the community in an open form so people know that this is okay or this is something to be concerned about. So I would ask or echo those who wanted a little more time for community involvement. That's all. Thank you. Thank you so much, ma'am, for coming down and speaking. Anyone else, Ms. Clerk? Thank you. Councillor Nielsen? Thank you, mister chairman. I would ask that my colleagues support both proposals this evening.
I have the privilege of representing a very engaged neighborhood, and, there's always a desire for more engagement. There's always a want for more. I I I do wanna emphasize that there has been a robust engagement process on this. I recognize that as it applies to zoning decisions, that notices is mailed. That is not a requirement under the DORA. But understand that that may have been a preference to neighbors. But nonetheless, this has been done with substantial community engagement.
And as I have committed since I've been working on this, as I committed when we introduced this, as I've said in community meetings, I ultimately will be the one responsible for the success or the failures of the DORA. And this community has my commitment that if anything goes poorly, that we cannot address immediately, that we will take the appropriate actions we need to. This is an opportunity for our community to lead, and Mr. Chairman, I would ask that we move to passage. Thank you. Oh, I will actually make a motion,
I'm sorry. Yeah. Mr. Chairman, I move that we send proposal three fifty one as amended to the full council with the due pass recommendation. Second. Probably has been moved and seconded. Madam Leader? One quick question, Councillor Nielsen. On Slide 10, under Community Engagement, you have about nine organizations that signed off on a letter of support, if you will. Roughly, how many individuals do you think Slide 10 represents? And if you have roughly, how many individuals attended the two public meetings that you held? I'm working on it.
You know, I'm half the math. Yeah. Yeah. Math counselor and you give me a little number of tests. Two and sixty over. So between the organizations, I have thirty, forty five, close to 50 community leaders. Mhmm. And, respective of both community meetings, 35, 35 attendees. I will also say that I've received a great deal of engagement via phone calls and emails and I have been advertising this and discussing this thoroughly in monthly newsletters for for four months now.
So you feel like you have you're confident that you have the support of the community? 100%. Thank you, mister chairman. Thank you, councilor. Thank you, leader Louis. Go ahead. Councilor Allen. Sorry. Thank you, mister chairman. This is actually done in Speedway. Correct? Yes. Okay. So have we looked at the data or because I I heard what the community said that they were concerned about the safety and, you know, the shootings. So have we looked at that to see if this is a success for the community in Speedway? Yes. So in in actually, we had a member of the Irvington Community Council do some of this lifting,
and and she found that kind of pre and post Dora that, the business district there on on Main Street had one additional or two additional runs over a period of time. That they could attribute to that period of time, not necessarily attributing to behavior in the DORA. Yeah. And that's one of the challenges with some of the data as well. Thank you, counsel. Final comments or questions? Motion will be properly moved and seconded. Miss Clerk, you can do a roll call vote, please. Absolutely. Thank you, mister chair. Councilor Renee? Aye.
Councilor Allen? Yay. Councilor Brown? Aye. Councilor Lewis? Lewis, aye. Councilor Mowery? Aye. Councilor Nielsen? Yes. Chairman Robinson? Robinson, aye. Thank you, mister chair. Proposal passes as amended. Thank you, miss Clerk. Thank you, council members. And those who came down to speak to the city, and thank you all. Oh, mister chairman. Yeah. Yeah. Mister chairman, I move that we send proposal three fifty two as amended to the full council with the due pass recommendation. Thank thank you. The motion is probably with a second. We'll do a roll call vote, miss Clerk. Thank you, mister chair. Councilor Renee? Aye. Councilor Allen?
Aye. Councilor Brown? Aye. Councilor Lewis? Lewis, aye. Counselor Mowery? Aye. Counselor Nielsen? Yes. Chairman Robinson? Robinson, aye. Thank you, mister chair. Proposal passes as amended. We are now adjourned. Thank you.