Wheeling Officials Hope PODA District In Place This Spring

Wheeling Vice Mayor Jerry Sklavounakis, left, chairman of the Rules Committee of Council, and Councilman Ty Thorngate meet this week to discuss a proposed Private Outdoor Designated Area for the city. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
WHEELING – Wheeling city officials hope to have an area of downtown able to legally sell alcoholic beverages in to-go cups by early May.
Members of the Rules Committee of Council met this week to discuss a proposed Private Outdoor Designated Area district after researching the matter over the past several months. The Development Committee of Council discussed the proposal at great length last summer, looking to bring this growing business district trend to the Friendly City.
Also known as a DORA or Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, a PODA district allows participating licensed bars, restaurants and other businesses to sell alcoholic beverages in designated disposable to-go cups for customers leaving the premises. These customers are then permitted to carry these open containers outside to another participating establishment within the district.
For the customers, it will allow them to carry a drink while walking from one participating establishment to another one within the district without violating any open container laws. For the participating liquor license holder, it will allow them to make an additional sale to customers who are leaving to go to another nearby location.
Rules Committee Chairman Jerry Sklavounakis said Wheeling officials spoke to a number of representatives from other cities in the state during a meeting of the West Virginia Municipal League.
“Throughout the state, this has been a very successful program,” Sklavounakis said. “From what I understand, everyone – at least in the local business community – supports this.”
Councilman Ty Thorngate brought the proposal before council last year after a number of municipalities in West Virginia began taking advantage of the new bill enacted in 2023 by the state legislature that included provisions authorizing municipalities to establish PODAs. These designated zones have been permitted in Ohio municipalities since 2015, and officials said they have been successful in helping to spark additional business within the designated districts.
“Last week, Councilman (Dave) Palmer and I had an informal town hall and invited every business that could participate to come and talk to us and go over this,” Thorngate said. “I would say 50% of people showed up, and the people who didn’t reached out to me privately via Facebook or email.
“I would say that if we passed the ordinance as is – with one small change – the business community does support it.”
Based on a draft of the proposed ordinance to establish a new PODA district in Wheeling, one requested change would be to extend the operating time from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
“That’s to be consistent with the rest of the state,” Thorngate said of PODA districts in other West Virginia cities. “Every other ordinance goes until 11 p.m.
“There are time constraints – there are certain times when you can and cannot do it.”
The proposed operating time for Wheeling’s PODA district would be between the hours of 4-11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Signage would be erected to let people know the boundaries of the PODA district. Under the proposal, Wheeling’s PODA district will extend from 10th Street in downtown to the southern end of Centre Market in Center Wheeling. The district in the downtown area will encompass Water Street and extend to Chapline Street.
Wheeling City Solicitor Rose Humway-Warmuth said the city’s legal department has been working closely with the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration on the required application process. Officials indicated that the WVABCA will approve an official logo for Wheeling’s PODA which will be displayed on the cups and on signage around the district.
The city’s Economic and Community Development Department is expected to be involved in the process to implement the district if council approves the ordinance, and the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau is also on board to participate, officials said.
“We’re going to buy the initial 10,000 cups, and then after that, it’s going to be on the businesses to purchase their own,” Thorngate said, suggesting that businesses collaborate in the future to buy cups in bulk at a cheaper price.
Officials indicated that private entities such as bars and restaurants in the district would participate along with city-owned venues such as the Capitol Theatre and WesBanco Arena. It will be up to the city to determine how to handle special events – such as the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Festival and other festivals at Heritage Port – as it relates to the PODA district.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said there have been no law enforcement problems reported by police agencies in other West Virginia municipalities that have established PODA districts.
“At least from the police perspective – all of the police agencies thought it was a good ordinance and caused no problems for their staff,” the chief said.
Members of the Rules Committee of Council agreed to forward the PODA proposal on to the full city council for consideration, and on Tuesday night, the ordinance received a first reading.
Thorngate said if all goes well with the proposal, he hoped to have the new PODA district operational by early May of this year.