An outdoor “Main Street Commons Social District” may be coming to downtown Three Rivers soon. At a regular meeting of the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority and Main Street Program (TRDDA) Friday, board members voted to approve recommending the district to the Three Rivers City Commission for approval. The district is a new opportunity under the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) to permit patrons at certain drinking establishments to consume alcoholic beverages outside.

The measure permitting the district at MLCC is a pandemic measure created in cooperation with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and other agencies, and its purpose is to permit establishments that would otherwise have to close or choose to close as a safety precaution to continue providing service to the public. The district would permit the consumption of alcoholic beverages outdoors, subject to a variety of rules and limitations that would be the responsibility of local authorities and liquor license-holding businesses to enforce.

Several other communities around the state have already taken advantage of the provision. If approved, the district in Three Rivers will include Main Street between Portage and Michigan Avenues, the Mural Mall opposite Portage Avenue, the East Walk-through, and the sidewalk behind the downtown buildings, along the East Parking Lot which fronts on Joshua Drive.

TRDDA board member and Venue 45 co-owner Sherri Rivers said she had concerns about the proposed district, mainly in that she felt there could be challenges in enforcing rules around alcohol and in protecting businesses from liability. Although beverages would have to be consumed in cups marked with the names or insignia of licensed businesses, Rivers said she was concerned that people could bring their own alcohol, which would jeopardize the licenses and make it harder to oversee intoxication levels. Rivers abstained from the vote to approve sending the measure on to the City Commission.

However, fellow board member Michael Hogoboom said it is TRDDA’s job to assist downtown businesses in finding ways forward during the pandemic. With respect to concerns about rule breaking and intoxication, he said enforcement in practice would not be substantively different from the way it occurs now. A person, he said, can already go from one establishment to the next or consume alcohol on their own, and so the change would not significantly alter the risk involved.

Some board members expressed concern that people could bring beverages into businesses that do not want them, but Meyer said those businesses can still create their own rules. Meyer said she has walked the downtown Historic District to get a sense for whether businesses support the idea. The majority, she said, have concerns about protecting their businesses but “are in favor” of the district.

A group of existing liquor-service licensees must sign on to the permit that creates the district and assume liability for serving beverages, as well as some control in determining where and how consumption would take place, which is also subject to certain state rules. Kelsey Block Brewing Company, Venue 45, and the Riviera Theatre would be the liquor license holders participating in the district. Rooster’s Wing Shack and Landmark Taphouse and Grille, the other two licensees inside the proposed district footprint, have declined to participate according to TRDDA Executive Director Tricia Meyer. If the City Commission also approves the district, it would go on to MLCC for final approval.

Executive Director Role in Historic District Commission Discussed

The Three Rivers Historic District Commission (HDC) is a city agency that is separate from the TRDDA, but which requires a city employee to serve as a liaison with its volunteer board members. Typically, the TRDDA Executive Director is assigned to that role, which involves a small amount of recordkeeping, attending HDC meetings, and providing occasional guidance and communication. However, if a larger issue arises, it can take more of the staff person’s time.

Such is the case with a dispute with a downtown property owner who recently performed exterior work on a contributing building to the downtown Historic District without the HDC’s approval and which does not conform to HDC guidelines. Meyer has been working as a liaison between the property owners and the HDC in order to try to find an amicable resolution to the situation.

At issue is the installation of glass block in a former door opening in a rear building façade that faces Railroad Drive. The HDC has issued notice to the property owner that they must either undo the work or modify or replace it to be in compliance with the guidelines. Both the property owner and the HDC have potential recourse for next steps.

If the property owners wish to dispute the HDC’s decision, they can appeal to Michigan’s State Historic Preservation Review Board according to Chapter 27 of the Three Rivers City Code. If the property is unsatisfied with the Review Board’s ruling, they can take it to St. Joseph County Circuit Court.

If the HDC requests action of the property owner and does not get it in a timely fashion, next enforcement steps require the city government to litigate the case, also in St. Joseph County Circuit Court. However, because of the costs that can be involved in a court battle for both parties, Meyer said the HDC wishes to find an amicable solution first, if possible. To that end, she has been acting as liaison.

Meyer said she believes the property owner acted in good faith. There are other buildings with glass block in the downtown district, but those were installed prior to the HDC’s establishment in 2016. TRDDA Board member Colin Monroe said the fact that the property owners have gotten other recent work approved by the HDC suggests they knew the process but ignored it. The HDC is a regulatory body of the City of Three Rivers.

Board Chair Andrew George said the TRDDA has no decision-making requirements or authority in the matter. Hogoboom said it is merely in TRDDA’s interest to protect the historic integrity of the downtown as a marketable asset. However, the issue has proven to take up more of Meyer’s time than she planned, and she said if the issue is not resolved soon, she will ask the TRDDA board’s Executive Committee for further guidance.

In other TRDDA business:

• At Friday’s meeting, the board approved carrying over funds from the 2019-2020 fiscal year into the current-year budget. The funds were approved last year, but because the projects to which they were designated were not finished, the unspent funds went back into the general fund balance at the end of the year, and thus needed to be reallocated. They include $17,737.01 in building renovation grant funds for Speaking Stone Café and Portfolio Ink Tattoo, as well as $13,644 for the East Alley renovation project.
• A bench leftover from an earlier renovation of the East Alley and donated by Tom Meyer when the alley was created currently sits at a Three Rivers Department of Public Services (DPS) storage facility, and Meyer said TRDDA plans to present the bench, which includes a statue of a girl reading, to the Three Rivers Public Library for its new building on North Main Street. The presentation is scheduled for November 11 at 2 p.m.
• Board members scheduled TRDDA’s annual budget retreat for a two-hour slot starting at 9:30 a.m. on January 23. The retreat will take place on Zoom as a pandemic precaution. The retreat will be held for the purpose of planning the agency’s 2021-2022 Fiscal Year budget.
• Meyer is working with several property owners and the Three Rivers Planning Commission to address issues relating to use of street-level storefronts for storage, which is prohibited by the City Code, as well as using the spaces as dwellings, which is also discouraged by the code, but primarily through indirect language.
• Meyer is also working with TRDDA’s Organization Committee to start a 21-day, onlins fundraising campaign through Patronicity called “Fall in Love with Downtown Three Rivers.” Each day of the campaign will have a unique theme, and funds raised will help to cover downtown events, which have not been earmarked for funds recently amid a budget shortfall due to decreased revenues for 2020.
• Preparations for holiday decorations on Main Street and surrounding areas are underway.
• A recent outdoor music event on Railroad Drive called “Backstage Bash” raised money toward other, upcoming events downtown. On Friday, the TRDDA board approved allocating $1,000 from Backstage Bash revenues toward Christmas Around Town (CAT), which is upcoming the weekend after Thanksgiving. The board also approved a CAT work plan. A New Year’s event, Midnight on Main, is in the early planning stages. Watershed Voice will provide follow-up coverage for details on both events.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.