AMES — Downtown could soon become a “Sip and Stroll” district after the city council directed staff Tuesday to move forward with a social district that would allow alcohol to be carried and consumed on designated public streets and sidewalks during approved events.

The proposal follows a change under House File 2325, allowing cities to establish social districts. The law requires an ordinance identifying the district, permitted dates and hours, participating alcohol licensees and requirements for marked containers.

Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips told the council the proposal would not create a permanently open drinking district.

“It’s certain designated times and dates that the City Council authorizes by resolution,” Phillips said.

Ames Main Street hopes to use the district for an event in early October, leaving the city on a compressed schedule. Planning and Housing Director Kelly Diekmann said an unusual aspect of the new state law is that social districts were placed in Iowa’s zoning chapter, requiring review by the Planning and Zoning Commission before the ordinance returns to the council.

“There’s moving pieces involved with that,” Phillips said, explaining the council will likely have to suspend its rules and complete all three ordinance readings at one meeting.

Businesses would not automatically participate. Licensed establishments would have to be approved for an event, and drinks leaving participating businesses would have to be placed in marked containers identifying where they were purchased.

The district’s boundaries prompted much of Tuesday’s discussion.

Ames Main Street Executive Director Ronnie Bartmess asked the council to give as many downtown businesses as possible the opportunity to participate.

“Ames Main Street is a community-wide initiative,” Bartmess said. “We want everyone included.”

Bartmess specifically raised concerns about leaving a bar south of the railroad tracks outside the district and said organizers would make educating attendees about the boundaries a priority.

“It’s the organizers’ strong marketing campaign to explain to patrons,” Bartmess said while discussing signs and other ways to communicate the boundaries.

Ames Police Chief Geoff Huff also encouraged organizers to consider assigning an officer specifically to the first events, with the map indicating ‘flagpoles’ or narrow areas where open containers are allowed, surrounded by areas such as City Hall and its parking lot, which are locations where the proposal indicated alcohol would not be allowed. 

“At least the first few events, probably better off hiring a police officer designated to the event,” Huff said.

The council ultimately selected an alternative district map presented during the meeting that was not included in the original meeting packet.

The council also approved changes to Ames’ urban deer hunt, continuing bow hunting while expanding opportunities on qualifying private property.

Hunters must continue to meet city safety requirements, including hunting from elevated stands and limiting shots to 75 feet.

Staff said the change is intended to reach residential areas where deer complaints persist but hunting has previously been difficult.

“We’re really trying to address concerns [on] properties that are harder to reach under the existing program,” Huff said.

The council approved the program to continue, with minor changes to the private property qualifications. 

The council also advanced a series of urban renewal area changes as Ames races to meet a Jan. 1, 2027, deadline created by Senate File 2472.

Staff is proposing expansions of existing urban renewal areas and the creation of new areas covering several city development priorities.

“There’s limited capacity to prepare [these] in the next three weeks,” Diekmann said.

Diekmann said there is a financial benefit to completing the work before Jan. 1 because a $5.40 school foundation levy component available to existing tax increment financing arrangements changes after that date.

That workload carried into the discussion of a proposed rural residential development at 3600 190th St., where Hunziker Companies is seeking an amendment to the Ames Plan 2040 that would allow as many as 20 homes.

A representative of the applicant said the company preferred moving forward despite knowing staff may not be able to work on the project until 2027.

“Our preference is option one,” the Hunziker representative said. “Even though staff doesn’t believe they’ll be able to work on things until spring 2027, we acknowledge that.”

The council chose to move the request forward with that timeline understood.

For more information on the council, you can visit its website.