Kinston City Council votes for social district, ABC Commission approval is next

KINSTON, N.C. (WNCT) — The Kinston City Council passed an ordinance on Tuesday that allows outdoor drinking in certain areas of downtown as part of a social district.

The Kinston City Council unanimously approved the district. The next step is awaiting approval from the ABC Commission.

People will be able to drink alcohol legally in public in the district. The social district will be a six-block area, bordered by Queen Street, Gordon Avenue, Mitchell Avenue and Peyton Avenue. Officials say the plan is to have the social district run every day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Antonio Hardy said there will also be certain procedures in place to keep customers in the allowed areas.

“Our cups will have a label on them, letting everybody know where they purchased that alcohol from,” Hardy said. “Then we will have great disposal put aside trash cans and that’s labeled, so it shows us the district area will have plenty of signs posted, and those are the things where we will educate our public before we actually pass this, if the ABC gives us a permit.”

City officials said final approval from the ABC Commission is expected to take a couple of months, but they hope to have a social district ready by July 3.

Mayor Don Hardy said if people leave the social district area with their alcohol, there will be a warning period before they start giving citations. There is no word yet on how long the warning period will be.

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