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Toledo Approves Its First Open Container District

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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A city in northern Ohio has OK’d its first outdoor public-drinking area under a new state law that allows revelers to legally carry open containers of alcohol.

Toledo’s city council approved the idea over the objections of some neighbors of the entertainment district.

The outdoor refreshment area will be in a neighborhood near downtown Toledo. Outdoor drinking will be limited to certain hours.

The new law is intended to spur economic development by allowing cities of certain sizes to create the outdoor refreshment areas that are exempt from state law banning public alcohol consumption.

Some Ohio cities have said they’re hoping to create entertainment districts similar to New Orleans’ French Quarter or Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.

Middletown in southwest Ohio approved creating a district last month.