West Chester Creates More Community Entertainment Districts

Katy Kanelopoulos
West Chester Township Community Development Department

West Chester Township Trustees just approved the creation of two additional Community Entertainment Districts. Why is this important?

Ohio law limits the number of liquor permits allowed within a jurisdiction (by type of permit) based upon population. The type of permit most often used by full service restaurants that wish to serve beer, wine and mixed drinks, is known as a D-5 permit. As the supply of such permits becomes constrained (as was the case in West Chester), the cost and availability of permits can become an impediment to the establishment of new restaurants in our community.

The creation of a CED allows up to 15 additional liquor licenses. With the approval of The Union Centre/Princeton Glendale CED and The Streets of West Chester CED, West Chester now has 30 additional D5-j liquor licenses available to potential businesses.

The new allocation of D-5j permits created by forming a CED does not impact the Township’s normal quota based allocation of D-5 permits, and the new D-5j permits remain with that specific CED for the benefit of the CED in the future. In addition, if existing establishments in possession of traditional D-5 permits are included within the new CED area, they have the option to sell their more mobile D-5 permit and replace them with the D-5j permits enabled by the CED.

West Chester now has a total of four Community Entertainment Districts. The Voice of America CED and Towne Centre CED were established in 2004 and remain active. By designating these districts, West Chester Township is being proactive in attracting dining and entertainment options for our residents and business community to enjoy for years to come.

For more information on CED’s, you can read about them on the Ohio Department of Commerce’s CED guide page here: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/liquor-control/local-government-resources/community-entertainment-district-ced-guide.