Redwood City approves entertainment zone: City approved events can now allow outdoor drinking in downtown pedestrian mall

Councilmember Marcella Padilla said any initiative to support local businesses is worthwhile. 

“We claim we have the best climate and it’s true, and when these warm months come, people want to be outside, they don’t want to rush to finish their drink,” Padilla said. “If we can encourage people to try new things, talk, hang out, get a little Vitamin D in the sun, enjoy some live music, I’m happy to give it a try.” 

Entertainment zones were made legal after Senate Bill 969, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was adopted in 2024. It’s defined as an area where patrons may consume alcohol in public spaces during specified days and hours. 

Only beer and wine sold by licensed establishments in the zone are allowed inside the entertainment zone. Staff and volunteers will be actively monitoring the entrances and exits of the space to ensure no alcohol is brought in or taken outside the boundary. 

The ability to activate the zone will go into effect as early as June 10, just in time for the FIFA World Cup games. The space is expected to be activated two or three times over the first three to four months.

After a trial period, Councilmember Chris Sturken said the city should look into extending the hours the space can be activated, allow for cocktails and make the space available for private event use.  

As it was approved, the ordinance allows the space to be activated any time between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week, as long as one of the participating licensees is selling alcohol during those hours. 

The cost to activate the space is estimated around $5,000 for two hours, Deputy City Manager Jennifer Yamaguma said. This includes police officers patrolling the space, signs, barriers, possibly wristbands and the cups themselves. 

State law prohibits glass and metal from being used for cups in entertainment zones, and the city’s ad hoc committee asked that plastic also not be used, leaving options limited for the cups that will hold beer and wine in the zone. 

While “a good glass of wine doesn’t taste good in a paper cup,” Councilmember Jeff Gee joked, councilmembers agreed the cups should be environmentally friendly.