City of Wilmington considering pilot social districts

City leaders are considering plans to create "pilot" districts in several commercial areas of the city

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —  The conversation surrounding “social districts” in Wilmington continues with some other cities in the state having adopted the policy.

Whiteville recently joined Raleigh, Greensboro, and around a dozen other towns in North Carolina in creating districts that allow people to openly carry alcohol from bar to bar in designated areas.

In Wilmington, city leaders are considering plans to create “pilot” districts in several commercial areas of the city.

Mayor Bill Saffo said Wilmington leaders are looking closely at what other municipalities are doing.

“We have evaluated other cities in how they handle their social districts and we feel that we will create a policy conducive to the city of Wilmington,” Saffo said. “We’ve taken a lot of input from the owners of restaurants and bars and citizens with respect to how this policy will roll out.”

Some people like Nancy Minton think having a social district would enhance the vibe of what the downtown area already has to offer by making it easier for people to wander from one place to another.

“You know, they give you the to-go cup and you can just take your drink and just walk along,” Minton said. “There are so many festivals down here and so many markets, things like that. It would just be nice to be able to walk around and not be limited to staying inside one place.”

Mayor Saffo said there are a number of concerns that need to be addressed before pilot districts can be announced.

“One of the big concerns from the police department is underage drinking and how do you control that,” Saffo said. “And of course, if someone has a cup and goes into a bar that may not have acquired that drink from a particular bar or restaurant when they got it. How do you police that?”

The mayor also adds the city plans to announce where the pilot districts will be located in the coming months.