FORT WALTON BEACH — Imagine a downtown where locals and tourists alike drive in, park and spend an entire afternoon eating, shopping and meandering through Fort Walton Landing.
That’s the vision City Manager Michael Beedie has for the city in the coming year.
He and his staff soon will propose an entertainment district that would encompass the area that includes downtown north and south of U.S. Highway 98.
“We’re trying to create more of a walkable environment,” Beedie said. “We want people to come here.”
With the establishment of an entertainment district, the City Council could set various regulations and standards for that specific area.
Among them would be the ability to temporarily lift the open alcohol container ban for special events and weekends, Beedie said.
“I know some people are going to like it and some people aren’t,” he said. “We definitely don’t want people walking around with booze on Highway 98. So we would probably restrict it to certain areas like Brooks Street. Those are the details we’re trying to work out right now.”
Bill Avery, who owns Fokker’s Sports Pub, likes the idea but has concerns about safety. He questioned whether the city has enough police officers to patrol the area on foot during high-traffic hours when open containers are allowed.
“How are we going to enforce this and who’s going to cut these people off?” Avery said. “I do think it’s a good idea, but … there’s got to be a measure of control.”
Avery said he would want an ordinance to restrict open containers to certain areas and prohibit people from “pouring drinks out of their trunks.”
“We should just cover all our bases,” he said. “There’s no amount of money worth making if someone gets hurt.”
Other possible regulations would allow the city to close Brooks Street during festivals or weekend nights and give downtown eateries the first shot at being vendors at festivals.
“Right now, for all these festivals we allow these outside vendors to come in with funnel cakes and food and stuff,” Beedie said. “Well, none of the downtown businesses benefit from that.”
He said the main idea is to use downtown’s recent momentum and make the area more accessible during special events and prime shopping and dining hours.
“It gives the businesses a chance to make more money,” he said. “It’s a good marketing (tool), and it gives us more of an identity as a city.”
Valerie Wenzel, co-chair of the Downtown Fort Walton Beach Merchants Association, said an entertainment district could promote the best of downtown.
“We think it would be a plus,” she said. “It would make downtown more friendly … so people can just hang out and shop and go to restaurants.”
Beedie said he and his staff hope to have some of the proposed ordinances finalized by early October.
“Then what we’re going to do is have one or two public workshops,” he said. “We’ll get input on them.”
Beedie said he would like to have the new ordinances approved and in place by next spring.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.