A downtown Savannah hallmark may soon expand into other neighborhoods.

The City of Savannah is working on a proposed ordinance to extend the to-go-cup zone. The city will be seeking broader public input “in the near future” and will release a draft ordinance, according to a City of Savannah spokesperson.

The new proposed go-cup zone would run from River Street on the north to Victory Drive on the south, and west from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to East Broad Street, according to the spokesperson. The city has been working on drafting boundaries for an expanded zone since late 2023, according to open records obtained by the Savannah Morning News.

An expanded go-cup zone for the Bull Street corridor was piloted in 2020, yet the most recent move to expand the zone was initiated by a request to staff from District 2 Alderman Detric Leggett, who sent the request on Nov. 29, 2023, the records show.

“All of our bars, our partners on the Bull Street and MLK corridor, all of those people are going to be affected by it, and we are going to be supporting it,” Leggett said.

Existing neighborhood feedback

A recent neighborhood survey of residents and businesses shows support for go-cup expansion in Savannah, although there are some differences in what types of expansion the respondents would rally behind. Support for a go-cup expansion to the boundaries now being presented by the city came in at 42%, according to the survey results provided by the Thomas Square, Victorian, and Cuyler-Brownsville neighborhood associations.

However, there was also support for potential expansion in two different “t-zones” that would encompass Park Avenue between Drayton and Whitaker Streets, with different options for extensions of the Bull Street corridor. First, a “small T” zone down Bull Street from Park Avenue to Henry Street. Second, a “large T” zone down Bull Street from Park Avenue to Victory Drive.

When support for the two different t-zones were combined with the broader expansion, the total support came in at about 73%.

“We actually got all kinds of responses on it, and it surprised me a little bit,” said Thomas Square Neighborhood Association President Jason Combs, who did analysis of the survey data with help from Chat GPT. “I didn’t think there would be as much support for a wide expansion.

Of the responses from residents and businesses in the Thomas Square and Victorian Neighborhoods, the larger boundary including the full neighborhoods received the most support. In the Victorian neighborhood, 35% of respondents supported the wider expansion. In Thomas Square, the number was 50%.

Although the survey was geared toward the hotel development overlay extension, neighborhood leaders included the to-go cup question to let those in the neighborhood know the topic may come up soon. When the survey was sent out earlier this year, there was not a “very clear answer from the city” on what the path forward on the issue was, Combs said.

“We wanted to put the question out there, not just to find out what people think, but to let them know this is an issue coming up,” Combs said.

A few of Starland’s staple businesses have already sent notes of support to city council, according to the public records ― among them, food and beverage purveyors Moodrights, 2424 Abercorn St., and Two Tides Brewing Company, 12 W. 41 St., as well as retail shops, Delaney Rose Boutique, 1813 Bull St., and Starlandia Art Supply, 2438 Bull St.

Liz Massey, owner and brand director of Two Tides, said in the letter that sales go towards providing pay raises, paid time off and health insurance for staff. Extending the go-cup zone would increase the businesses capacity to support its staff, Massey said.

“Being able to even sell a handful of to-go drinks a day in our neighborhood allows us to accomplish these things that are crucial for our business to not only maintain staff, but offer our staff the quality of life they deserve,” Massey wrote in the letter.

However, Combs said there were businesses’ responses in the survey that expressed opposition to the expansion. One downside those businesses cited, relayed Combs, was potentially having to monitor for outside to-cup cups brought in by guests.

Leggett, who represents the entirety of the proposed expansion zone, said he supports an expansion because of its benefits to small businesses.

“We look for the opportunity to be even greater by giving new opportunity to our businessess, newcomers to Savannah, and our residents,” Leggett said.

Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah to seek resident input on expansion of to-go cup zone