On March 17, 2020, the Monterey County Health Officer adopted a shelter-in-place order that required all non-essential businesses to close their doors and all non-essential workers to shelter-in-place at their private residences to slow the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants were designated an essential business and were allowed to continue operations in a limited capacity through take-out and delivery only. In support of these limited operations, City staff allowed local businesses to place temporary signage in the public way to identify their take-out services.
On May 12, 2020, the City Council held a discussion on whether to provide restaurants with access to the public right-of-way (i.e. Dolores Street) for outdoor seating for the consumption of take-out food orders. After much public discussion the Council decided this was not a viable option, at least for the near term.
As an alternative to closing Dolores Street, the City Administrator evaluated the possibility of providing individual restaurants the opportunity to apply for a temporary encroachment permit to place tables and chairs in the public way for their patrons to consume their take-out orders. As the Memorial Day weekend approached, staff felt it was prudent to facilitate some form of outdoor seating that would be safe and orderly for the anticipated crowds that would be visiting the village. Local restaurants expressed a high level of interest in these outdoor seating areas, and while no injuries or accidents were reported, the haste in which some outdoor seating areas were set up resulted in haphazard arrangements.
Since Memorial Day, staff and local business owners have been working cooperatively to improve outdoor seating arrangements, ensure restaurants understand the terms of their permits and improve the aesthetics of the outdoor seating areas.
The shelter-in-place order has been largely effective in Monterey County due to the efforts of residents and businesses in adhering to the Order. As a result, on May 26, 2020, the Monterey County Health Officer amended the shelter-in-place order to allow restaurants to provide limited dine-in services, in addition to take-out and delivery orders. This amendment became effective on Saturday, May 30, 2020 when the Governor approved Monterey Counties variance request.
In order to comply with social distancing requirements, the seating capacity of restaurants has been severely restricted. Outdoor seating in the public way is an opportunity to compensate for the loss of interior seats, allowing restaurants to serve more of their clientele and thus improving their ability to remain in business.
Temporary Encroachment Permit Terms and Conditions:
Temporary Encroachment Permits for outdoor seating may be issued for the public sidewalk and/or public parking spaces located adjacent to a restaurant. The application form (refer to Attachment 1) requires the following be submitted for review by City Staff:
1) Completed application for ‘Outdoor Seating in the Public Way’;
2) Site plan and photographs showing the layout of the outdoor seating area;
3) Photo/Detail of the outdoor seating barrier (when located in a parking space);
4) Photographs of the tables and chairs (plastic not permitted); and
5) A certificate of insurance with an endorsement in the amount of $2,000,00 in combined single limit insurance for personal injury and/or property damage per occurrence and $4,000,000 in aggregate naming, “The City of Carmel-By-The-Sea, its elected officials, officers, agents and employees are additionally insured under the policy.”
Applications are reviewed by the Chief of Police, Public Works Director and Acting Community Planning & Building Director. Special conditions may be placed on a permit depending on unique site conditions (i.e. width of a street, distance from a corner, etc.). Permit holders must review and sign a list of Standard Conditions (Attachment 2) that must be adhered to in order to maintain the permit. The Code Compliance Officer is actively enforcing the permit conditions. To date, Staff has approved 22 permits for outdoor seating and another 12 applications are in review.
Questions for Discussion:
On June 9, 2020, Mayor Potter formed an-hoc working group of himself and Mayor Pro Tem Richards to act in an advisory capacity making recommendations to the City Council on outdoor seating in the public way; both for the near term and potentially permanently. The Mayor asked for input from Graeme Robertson, Mary Crowe, Tim Twomey and Jenny MacMurdo, Marnie Waffle and the City Administrator. The Ad-hoc working group held its first meeting on June 12, 2020 to provide recommendations on various aspects of the current outdoor seating program and potential direction for a more permanent program. The following topics were discussed.
1) The City has approximately 52 restaurants. While not all restaurants may ask for outdoor seating in the public way, and some may request seating on the sidewalk only, the downtown could lose between 52 and 104 parking spaces. The loss of spaces would add to the perceived parking problem downtown and would remove public parking that would otherwise be used by retail customers.
a. If 52-104 spaces became unavailable for parking, how might this affect the downtown as a whole?
2) Smaller restaurants tend to have shorter street frontages (i.e. 20 feet wide) resulting in only one public parking space directly in front of their business.
a. Should a smaller sized restaurant be allowed to use public parking that is located in front of an adjacent business for outdoor seating?
b. Should the adjacent business be given the opportunity to approve/deny outdoor seating in front of their business?
3) ABC has indicated a willingness to issue temporary permits to restaurants to allow serving of alcohol in outdoor seating areas on public property.
a. Should the City allow alcohol to be served and consumed in outdoor seating areas on public property?
b. If so, should the hours that alcohol is served be regulated by the City?
c. Should wine tasting rooms and drinking places (i.e. bars) be allowed to use the public way similar to restaurants?
d. If so, should they be required to also provide bona-fide meals?
e. How will businesses ensure that patrons do not leave the seating area with an alcoholic beverage? And ensure that alcohol is not being passed on to underage drinkers?
4) The number of tables/chairs located in the public way will be determined primarily by social distancing requirements as well as site constraints (i.e. sidewalk widths, loading zones, etc.). In a typical 20-foot long parking space, two 4-top tables (or four, 2-top tables) could be accommodated.
a. Should the City set a maximum limit on the number of tables/chairs placed in the public way?
b. Should each restaurant be allowed a fixed amount (i.e. 8 chairs)?
c. Or should the number of seats be a percentage of the restaurants interior seats (i.e. 10%, 20%)?
d. If a restaurant has a private outdoor patio, should they also be allowed to use the public way?
5) Sidewalk widths vary throughout the downtown. Some areas are more narrow, others wider. Tree wells, trash cans, and light poles also reduce the area where people can pass.
a. Should restaurants be allowed to use BOTH the sidewalk and public parking for outdoor seating OR should it be limited to one or the other?
b. Should sidewalk seating be prohibited altogether?
6) Currently staff is not allowing outdoor seating in designated loading zones or disabled accessible parking spaces but is permitting outdoor seating in 30-minute parking spaces.
a. Should outdoor seating be prohibited in 30-minute parking spaces?
b. Should the City restrict deliveries in the downtown to morning hours to minimize conflicts?
7) Restaurants are required to obtain a Use Permit from the Planning Commission. Use Permits often establish the maximum number of seats a restaurant can have (indoors and outdoors) and the hours they can operate.
a. Should restaurants be required to amend their Use Permit and go before the Planning Commission to obtain approval for outdoor seating in the public way?
8) A variety of types and styles of barriers have been used for outdoor seating areas in public parking spaces. Some are more substantial (i.e. large wooden planter boxes, wine barrels) and others more modest (i.e. flower pots). Additionally, for the comfort of patrons, restaurants may want to provide umbrellas and/or portable heat lamps.
a. Should the City adopt minimum standards (i.e. height, weight, style) to create some consistency between outdoor seating areas?
b. Should accessory comfort items (i.e. umbrellas, heat lamps) be allowed in the public way?
c. Should they be removed at close of business?
d. How/where will propane be safely stored?
9) Should restaurants be allowed to use temporary lighting within the outdoor seating areas? If so, should the lighting be limited to solar powered lights only? If electrified lights are allowed, where will power source be and how will restaurants ensure that cords do not become a tripping hazard?
10) The Zoning Code does not allow commercial activity on public property (with a few exceptions).
a. Should the Zoning Code be amended to allow restaurants to use public property for outdoor seating as a permanent use?
The Ad-hoc working group provided the following recommendations:
1) The loss of parking downtown is an important issue and warrants further discussion including input from the broader business community.
2) Business owners should take a consistent and proactive role in making sure that employees parking in City parking lots (Vista Lobos and Sunset Center) as opposed to the commercial district.
3) Outdoor seating areas should be subject to design review by the Planning Commission for more consistency and an improved aesthetic. Barriers should be more substantial (minimum height and weight) to protect patrons while respecting the charm of the Village.
4) Restaurants should be allowed to serve alcohol with meals if the proper Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) license is obtained.
5) Businesses that have private patios should make use of that space before requesting seats in the public way.
6) Wine tasting rooms and drinking places should be allowed to participate in the outdoor seating program as long as they provide bona-fide meals (not snacks or pre-packaged food items).
7) Conflicts between delivery trucks, pedestrians and vehicles could be minimized by establishing delivery hours earlier in the day. Additional input from the business community should be sought.
Chamber of Commerce Survey Results:
The Chamber of Commerce surveyed local businesses/organizations and the community on the topic of outdoor seating (refer to Attachment 3). A total of 74 responses were received. 79 percent of respondents said the outdoor seating program was either great or good; 48 percent are supportive of making the program permanent.