The City of Vacaville, like a host of other cities in the greater Sacramento region, is considering adopting designated entertainment zones downtown to support business owners and create a more vibrant atmosphere.
It is thanks to a new law that went into effect in California in January 2025, allowing cities and counties to create these designated zones for alcohol consumption in public spaces.
The City of Sacramento was one of the first to pass an ordinance and the Placer County city of Loomis is also one of the most recent to explore its entertainment zone options.
Vacaville leaders want to create a more vibrant downtown, but call their approach a “balancing act.”
“An entertainment zone, if established, can allow restaurants and bars to sell alcohol in basically open containers, and those open containers can be carried into designated public spaces,” explained Erin Morris, Vacaville’s community and economic development director.
If you ask the School of Rock in downtown Vacaville, they welcome anything that brings more foot traffic and keeps a fun atmosphere downtown.
“When our students get an opportunity, and anytime there’s an event downtown, we love to put them out in front of the school. People are always amazed when they come around the corner and they hear the kids playing,” said School of Rock Vacaville owner Leslie Silver.
Silver says the idea of designated entertainment zones strikes all chords.
“I think it’s a super positive thing for downtown businesses, for the community,” said Silver.
The city of Vacaville hosted its first community meeting on the topic on Thursday night.
Morris says these zones could be beneficial when downtown hosts the farmers market, festivals, live music, and other community events around the town square or Andrews Park.
Right now, those event alcohol sales go to outside vendors.
“Everything about this is intended to help downtown Vacaville businesses and help make our downtown more prosperous and more popular,” said Morris.
The city asked for feedback from residents and business owners as they work to draft an ordinance to present to the city council.
“It could bring more business downtown. But you know, we do want to make sure that it is safe for everyone, even families,” said Kelly Pledger, owner of La Borgata Italian Deli.
The main concerns mentioned at the meeting were limited parking and what could be the negative impacts of increased alcohol consumption.
“There are concerns about how having more alcohol downtown can affect the environment. There seems to be support for a managed program. So, we definitely heard support for a program, but we heard concerns about how exactly it’s put together,” said Morris.
Vacaville police are already at the table.
“We want to make sure we’re involved in the planning process so that way we can adequately support downtown businesses and the people that want to come downtown and enjoy these events,” said Captain Katie Cardona with the Vacaville Police Department.
As part of this proposal, the city is also considering adding more parklets downtown and adopting a design ordinance for them. Those are designated spaces for restaurants to allow their customers to eat outside.
The next community meeting on the project is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25 at 2 p.m. at the McBride Community Center.
More information on the project can be found on the city’s website.
