The city of Cottonwood is looking at ways to help promote the continued development of Old Town and other areas.
One potential idea is the creation of an Entertainment District.
In 2010, the Arizona State Legislature passed a measure that allows municipalities to designate special areas as entertainment districts — areas with entertainment, dining, nightlife and other cultural assets.
Other towns across Arizona have already established special entertainment districts, including Camp Verde, Clarkdale, Scottsdale, Peoria, Phoenix, Glendale and Prescott Valley.
“This pertains to giving a City Council the ability to waive distance requirements for certain types of alcohol establishments that want to locate within 300 feet of a church or school,” according to a report from the town. “That type of district must be at least an eighth-mile wide and no more than one square mile in area. It must have entertainment and tourism uses, such as restaurants, bars, galleries, museums. Only one such area per city the size of Cottonwood is allowed.”
A potential entertainment district might include more than just Old Town, said Charlie Scully, a long-term planner with the city of Cottonwood.
Each case of a business within distance of a church or school would be reviewed on a case by case basis.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, July 16, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
