FORTVILLE — Leaders in Fortville continue to work on a way that would allow for the development of more restaurants and other establishments that want to serve alcohol.
Proponents say the measure would fill empty commercial spaces in the growing town, but a Fortville restaurateur says an increase in competition could hurt his business.
The idea: create a riverfront development district along parts of the creek and drainage ditches that run through Fortville. Despite the name, municipalities have established such districts along smaller waterways across the state.
Indiana municipalities are capped on the number of restaurant alcohol permits based on their populations. Three kinds of permits are available to restaurants in Fortville, and the town is capped at three of each kind. One kind is for serving beer; another for beer and wine; and the third for beer, wine and spirits.
There is no cap on those kinds of permits in riverfront development districts. The districts have to be within 1,500 feet of a waterway. Alcohol permits available within them do not allow carryout, and the permits are not transferable.
Alex Intermill, Fortville town attorney, said at the Fortville Town Council meeting on Monday, March 2, that the riverfront development district would also have to be within the town’s tax increment financing district. In a TIF district, tax funds are used to benefit the area and foster redevelopment. Fortville’s TIF district spans along much of Broadway Street and Maple Street/Fortville Pike. The Fortville Redevelopment Commission oversees the TIF district.
At the council meeting, officials discussed a proposed resolution with guidelines the town would use to determine whether it should recommend an applicant’s approval to the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission. An applicant’s business should be focused on a dining and/or entertainment experience rather than an alcohol-based consumption experience, according to the proposed resolution. Other guidelines call for applicants to disclose the type of business they’re pursuing and the size of the building and that a public hearing be held.
Whatever dining or entertainment experience a potential riverfront development district business owner is going for, Intermill said they’d have to have the ability to prepare and provide enough hot soups, hot sandwiches, coffee, milk and soda for at least 25 people along with enough seating, per state law.
The proposed resolution called for the creation of a board of town council and redevelopment commission members to review applications, but council members said they’d like to have both bodies consider them.
When a municipality recommends a riverfront development district alcohol permit application to the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission, the process that follows is like any other liquor license application. The commission and Indiana State Excise Police review the application and ensure the applicant is qualified to hold the license. If that hurdle is cleared, then the matter would be set for a Hancock County Alcoholic Beverage Commission meeting. An orange sign would be posted at the site of the prospective establishment, and members of the public could attend the meeting to voice their views. The county alcoholic beverage commission would then vote whether to recommend that the state commission issue the license.
Jake Burgess, owner of FoxGardin Kitchen and Ale in downtown Fortville, said he likes the way the system currently works in town — the population driving how many restaurant alcohol permits are available.
“I think the system in place now is a good system,” he said.
But that system is also keeping buildings empty, Councilwoman Libby Wyatt said.
Robert Ferrell, who owns commercial properties in Fortville, said half the people he shows properties to lose interest after discovering the lack of available alcohol-serving permits.
“Whether we want to admit it or not, Fortville right now has the face of success on it, and people want to associate with Fortville,” Ferrell said. “One way to tell is just look at your Highway 13, look at your (State Road) 67 and your (Fortville) Pike out here. It’s full of people now, folks. There’s a lot of people coming through our area.”
Burgess said he feels a riverfront development district may work one day in Fortville, but not yet. He added sales at FoxGardin have declined over the past three years and adding more competition would require him and other locally owned restaurants to make changes.
Robert Holland, a Fortville town councilman, said he feels the guidelines in the proposed resolution are too broad. He also said he’d like to see it become an ordinance rather than a resolution, as an ordinance would require two votes to amend in the future and give the public more of an opportunity to weigh in.
Council members want to hear more from the public on the subject and intend to discuss it at the March 16 council meeting, which is at 7 p.m. at the Town of Fortville Municipal Building, 714 E. Broadway. Officials also want the town’s redevelopment commission to consider the matter at its next meeting. The majority of commission members supported a riverfront development district last year when it first came up, but now all but one of its members are new.
If created, it would be the first riverfront development district in Hancock County. According to an Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission database, there are almost 300 active riverfront development district alcohol permits for serving beer, wine and spirits in the state.
Greenwood established its riverfront development district last year. Kevin Steinmetz, capital projects manager for the city, told the Daily Reporter it exists in commercial areas along two creeks running through town. The city found itself without any more permits for serving beer, wine and spirits, and leaders felt a riverfront development district would be an effective way to allow development to keep up with the area’s rapidly growing population, Steinmetz said.
Steinmetz said one riverfront development district alcohol permit has been issued in Greenwood so far, but more are expected as commercial areas continue to develop.
“It’s a nice thing to have in your toolkit for economic development,” he said.
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WHAT: Fortville Town Council meeting
WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday, March 16
WHERE: Town of Fortville Municipal Building, 714 E. Broadway, Fortville
WHY: Officials will discuss a proposed riverfront development district
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