Indio weighs open-container alcohol rules for downtown festivals

Indio businesses including the Dune Room and Rosemary HiFi were consulted, and all supported the idea of an open-container zone for certain city festivals.

The Indio City Council voted 3-1 Wednesday to continue a proposed six-month downtown entertainment zone to its next meeting, so staff can return with options based on council feedback.

The vote came after a motion by Councilmember Oscar Ortiz to deny the pilot program failed. Ortiz had asked staff to come back with ideas that do not include open containers.

Under the proposed ordinance, which would be the first of its kind in the Coachella Valley, patrons could buy drinks from participating licensed businesses and drink them in designated public areas during city events, between noon and 9 p.m.

Economic Development Director Miguel Ramirez-Cornejo said the pilot would cover the upcoming Barbecue Festival, International Tamale Festival and Asada Fest, with staff reporting back before the council decides whether to continue, change or end it.

Drinks would be served in city-approved clear plastic cups, and anyone drinking would wear a wristband showing they are 21 or older. Ramirez-Cornejo said businesses would opt in for each event and the city would pay for the cups.

Ramirez-Cornejo said his team reached out to police in Upland, Redding, Mountain View, Long Beach and Santa Monica, each city about a year into similar programs. He said the departments’ biggest problems were people carrying open containers out of the designated zone and not knowing every rule.

“No one reported any major issues,” Ramirez-Cornejo said. “In terms of fights, overconsumption, just a bunch of drunk people everywhere, they have not reported any issues.”

Ortiz said he feared open containers would alter the family atmosphere downtown. “I think what we have right now is golden,” he said, adding that his concern was not police capacity but what Indio families want from downtown.

Mayor Pro Tem Waymond Fermon said he was more concerned about “going backwards.”

“We know where we’ve been. Indio has changed a lot. Indio is not old Indio,” Fermon said. “Our downtown was desolate, and we’re moving in a direction now where we’re becoming an entertainment hub.”

Staff’s proposed entertainment zone in blue for the International Tamale Festival. Smaller festivals like the Asada Fest Barbecue Festival would be confined to the red zone.

Police Chief Brian Tully said he is willing to try the program for six months but that outcomes are uncertain. “It really depends on the behavior of the people that come down to our downtown,” he said. Tully said police have the capacity to patrol the area with private security partners.

The council also debated how large the zone should be. Staff proposed a larger area for the Tamale Festival, bounded by Oasis Street, Indio Boulevard, Bliss Avenue and Smurr Street. A smaller area about half that size would be used for other events. Ramirez-Cornejo said the smaller area helps the city control costs, security and police staffing.

With no consensus on the zone’s size or on whether open containers should be allowed at all, the council chose to delay a decision. Councilmembers voted to send the ordinance back to staff, which keeps the item open until the next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 21, and the city attorney said the council can continue the public hearing to that date immediately. Staff will use the time to develop options from the feedback, including the smaller pilot area and options without broad open container rules.