Traverse City commissioners voted 6-1 Monday to approve the city's first social district near the Eighth Street and Garfield Avenue intersection, albeit with significantly reduced boundaries compared to the initial proposal. 

Commissioners approved establishing a social district - or an area where to-go alcoholic beverages can be sold and consumed in designated outdoor common areas within the district's boundaries - starting at Garfield Avenue and going east up to the end of the service drives on both the north and south sides of East Eighth Street. Those boundaries encompass the three primary businesses that could sell alcohol in the corridor, including Tank Space on 8th, Oakwood Proper Burgers, and Common Good Bakery. However, they are significantly scaled back from the original proposed boundaries of Garfield Avenue from roughly Walnut Street to Boyd Avenue and Eighth Street from South Civic Center Drive to Michigan Avenue.

Commissioner Mi Stanley was the sole 'no' vote against the proposal because she believed the boundaries were too small. The NoMi Collective, located on the west side of the Garfield/Eighth intersection, requested to be included in the district but was shut out of the approved boundaries. That was due in part to some commissioners expressing concerns about the dangers of intersection crossings. Stanley said that any map that excluded The NoMi Collective was a "non-starter." She added: "This is too small in my opinion to have any (economic development) impact beyond closing those service drives."

Commissioners voted initially Monday on a social district map with bigger boundaries, but that motion failed. After approving the narrower map, commissioners also approved permit requests from adjoining businesses Oakwood Proper Burgers and Tank Space on 8th – an Earthen Ales satellite – that will allow them to sell to-go beverages in the social district. 

Under Michigan law, customers in social districts can purchase alcohol from a licensed bar or restaurant in one-time-use, marked disposable cups and carry it within outdoor common spaces, which typically have shared seating and tables free for anyone to use. Open alcohol containers can’t be taken outside the district, nor can alcohol be consumed inside unless it’s purchased by approved licensees. Containers cannot exceed 16 ounces. The management plan for Traverse City's social district indicates it will operate between May 1 and October 31 9am-10pm daily, with staff set to evaluate the success of the initial pilot project after the end of this first season.

To create attractive outdoor common areas where drinking is allowed, city staff plan to use at least $60,000 from the city’s economic development fund for placemaking materials like outdoor seating, furniture, lighting, and other amenities. Those amenities will be set up in the service drives - which wil be closed off to vehicular traffic during the social district season - with the furniture removed and the drives reopened to traffic during the winter. While initially included in the commission agenda Monday as an item requiring a vote, City Manager Liz Vogel clarified at the meeting that the individual placemaking purchases fall within her spending authority and thus didn't require commission approval.

Tank Space on 8th co-owner Andrew Kidwell-Brix told commissioners he thought the new outdoor common areas will look "a lot like the sidewalk cafes that we see downtown." Kidwell-Brix said he believed the placemaking project will help calm traffic on East Eighth Street and attract new investment to the corridor, saying a social district could help "breathe more life into that side of town."