Ahead of the summer months and a busy slate of events, the Redwood City Council will consider allowing public drinking in its downtown pedestrian mall to support local businesses and engage the community.
If the ordinance is approved at the City Council meeting Monday, city staff will be enabled to activate the pedestrian mall this summer to allow patrons of participating restaurants to consume their drinks outside of the establishment, but still nearby.
The ordinance could 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 to three times over the first three to four months, for approximately two to three hours at a time, according to a staff report.
The zone is being considered on the 200 block of Broadway, and the cross-section of Redwood Creek between Broadway and the Main Street Parking Lot.
“The Pedestrian Mall was selected as the first Entertainment Zone because it is closed to vehicular traffic, there is sufficient density of [Alcoholic Beverage Control] licensees, and there are clear entrances and exits, all of which make the zone easier to manage,” the staff report said.
The participating storefronts could include Pizzeria Cardamomo, Nighthawk, Vino Santo, Vesta, LV Mar Tapas and Cocktails, Blacksmith, Bao, Margaritas Mexican Restaurant and Vons Chicken.
The item comes as many other jurisdictions consider doing the same after Senate Bill 969, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was adopted in 2024. Entertainment zones are defined as an area where patrons may consume alcohol in public spaces during specified days and hours.
The cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Mountain View have adopted similar ordinances to activate their entertainment zones as part of special events.
In Redwood City, the activation of the entertainment zone can only be approved by city staff. When activation is approved, 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.
Any alcoholic beverage inside the entertainment zone must be sold by a licensee established in the zone.
The proposed ordinance would allow 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.
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