OVIEDO, Fla. – Oviedo leaders and residents are weighing in on a bill which would allow for open containers within a new arts and entertainment district.
House Bill 4031 would allow for Oviedo on the Park to issue specialty permits to businesses so that people can purchase alcoholic drinks and walk around with them. It would also create a special zone within the city called the “Oviedo Arts and Entertainment District.”
Oviedo City Manager Patrick Kelly said Oviedo on the Park has become an attraction for the area with festivals which bring in thousands ever year. He said the bill could increase business.
“What it does is it allows the businesses around the park to take place in some of that economic benefit of those people coming in by allowing them to sell alcoholic beverages, and then for people to leave their establishments and then go out and enjoy the park and the festival to take place there,” Kelly said.
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Tommy Burton said he visits Oviedo on the Park three to four days a week and is in favor of the bill.
“I don’t really see a problem with it because a lot of times it’s not as large as you would like it to be,” Burton said. “So, it’s sometimes it’s overcrowded when you’re sitting there, but if you could grab it and then come sit by the lake, it would be a different story.”
But not everyone feels the same.
“I am not for it, only because this is a kid-friendly atmosphere and I kind of like to keep it that way and I just don’t want alcohol mixed with that,” said Denise Pulido.
Kelly said the next steps would be to come up with some specifications on how the drinks are consumed in public.
“In this case, it would be a cup that would have a particular color and branding so that it’s easily identifiable that people are walking with an alcoholic beverage,” Kelly said. “That would hopefully give the distinction of, to our safety personnel, that folks are walking out in the public with that beverage and so that would allow them to be able to police the area and keep them within the specified area.”
Should the bill make it through the legislature and get the final stamp of approval from Gov. Ron DeSantis, it will go into effect the day it becomes law.
However, if the bill becomes law, the city of Oviedo would still need to draft an ordinance to get the city council’s input and guidance on the cups, times and any other prohibited areas. From there, it would go through the public hearing process and adoption process. Kelly said he hopes all of that will happen within a couple months of the bill becoming law.
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