(WWJ) How'd you like to stroll down the street in Mount Clemens this summer while sipping an ice cold cocktail or beer?
There's a proposal on the table to set up a designated social district where people could buy and drink alcoholic beverages outdoors in the city's downtown area.
Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp says the plan would help drive foot traffic in the central business district — even to businesses that don't sell alcohol.
It's part of the city's re-branding.
"Part of what we want to change is this perception of Mount Clemens kind of being a stagnant, not really fun community, and instead it being fun, destination," the mayor said. "What we really wanna see is us being the uptown of Macomb County, and we think this would be a great tool for that."
Businesses that fall under the rules of the Liquor Control Commission would have to get a special license, and it would be highly regulated.
This comes after cocktails-to-go and designated drinking districts were legalized in Michigan under bi-partisan bills passed by the Legislature, and signed by the governor last summer.
Supporters say the new law will give Michigan’s hospitality industry another tool to help make up for the financial losses suffered during the COVID-19 crisis, and allow people to space out outdoors.
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Thus far in the process, Kropp said the community's response in Mount Clemens has been overwhelmingly positive.
"The city even went as far as looking into the other 26 communities that had this in place over the summer, that are in Michigan," she said. "And we looked to see if they had any issues with enforcement or issues with other businesses participating... and we really couldn't find any."
The mayor said she hopes to get the proposal before the Downtown Development Authority and City Commission by March.