Zelienople proposes open-container ban
Zelienople Borough Council proposed an open-container ban Monday, sparking a contentious debate when business owners objected to the language of the proposal.
The ordinance, which will be formally considered at the council's March 8 meeting, would prohibit the carrying of open containers of alcohol on borough property except in limited circumstances.
“The borough has a liability when they put the sale of alcohol on a public property,” Police Chief Jim Miller said.
Although similar bans are commonplace among Butler County municipalities, Zelienople does not have such a prohibition, and the only state law regarding open containers pertains to alcohol in vehicles.
Because of COVID-19, area businesses utilized the borough's lack of such a ban last summer, when various events and restaurant dining areas moved outdoors, where alcohol was not forbidden to be in open containers.
Read more in Thursday's Butler Eagle.