Sylva slightly expands social district hours
The social district encompassing much of downtown Sylva had its hours extended by town commissioners.
File photo
Sylva’s popular downtown social district will now stay open an hour later each evening after town commissioners approved a modest expansion meant to accommodate one of the community’s best-loved events.
As previously written, the social district ordinance specified hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The board voted unanimously without discussion Aug. 28 to extend the district’s hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The change gives concertgoers at the long-running “Concerts on the Creek” series time to continue enjoying alcoholic beverages responsibly without running afoul of town law.
The move was prompted by a recommendation from the Main Street Sylva Association made by its board last month. Representing the group, Balsam Falls Brewing owner Corey Bryson told commissioners that the original hours were chosen conservatively when the district was created in 2022, largely to reassure skeptics.
“With the past three years or so that it’s been active, we have seen amazing success in town with the social district,” Bryson said. “To my knowledge, it has not increased anything — any of the effects that were put before the board at the initial voting.”
Concerns at the time ranged from public drunkenness to litter and safety issues. Bryson said none of those problems have materialized.
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In 2022, six months after the resolution was passed, Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton told The Smoky Mountain News there had been no increase in crime due to the social district. When reached for comment a year later, Hatton said nothing had changed.
“I don’t think we’ve even had a call,” he said at the time.
The district allows patrons to carry beer or wine in specially marked cups within a designated area that includes Main Street and adjacent blocks. Bryson explained that the earlier cutoff conflicted with the weekly concert series at Bridge Park, which usually ends right at 9 p.m.
“We have seen instances where people would get a glass of something to drink, to go. We can’t allow that because they would be violating the social district ordinance,” he said. “We don’t want to encourage irresponsible drinking, which, if we serve someone a beer or wine at 8:58, they’re going to have to drink it in two minutes. That’s just not responsible.”
By moving the closing time to 10 p.m., commissioners endorsed the small but significant adjustment. The later hour still ends alcoholic beverage consumption well before midnight, a point Bryson stressed in assuring the board that the association wasn’t asking for a major expansion.
The ordinance amendment, effective immediately, maintains all other social district rules. Alcohol must still be consumed within the boundaries of the district, and beverages must be disposed of before leaving the district.
