Will Pasadena’s pandemic-era on-street dining policies survive? Future rules are taking shape
This week Pasadena restaurateurs who survived the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of emergency outdoor dining rules got a glimpse into the future of those regulations and their businesses.
At its Nov. 8 meeting, the city’s planning commission reviewed the latest suggestions for how the emergency measures will be modified into a coherent city code, building on recommendations from the economic development and technology committee in May.
Along with other regulations, in short the proposed changes so far would:
- allow restaurants on private property to continue offering outdoor dining without requiring them to add new or replacement parking;
- permit restaurants to continue on-site alcohol sales through the administrative conditional use permit process;
- allow restaurants to add walk-up windows by-right, removing the CUP requirement.
At both meetings on the policy, restauranteurs said pandemic-era initiatives allowing alfresco dining in Pasadena gave businesses a fighting chance during COVID, as eating outdoors grew in popularity and even created a new sense of place in areas where it flourished.
According to the commission staff report, since June 2020 Pasadena has issued 46 outdoor dining permits, 29 of which were issued for parking lot dining, as opposed to areas like plazas or courtyards.
To take advantage, the city aims to use $1.5 million in federal funding earmarked by Rep. Judy Chu’s office to support its outdoor dining program created in 2020 that ran out of funding by mid-2022 in order to reimburse businesses that make improvements to their storefronts or install permanent outdoor structures for alfresco dining.
The five-year pilot program would disburse around $850,000 to about 20 to 30 Pasadena restaurants through either an up-to-$45,000 grant to install a parklet or parking lot dining structure, or an up-to-$20,000 grant for small scale façade improvements.
Applications open next year. But in the meantime the city will seek to create a set of permanent rules that promotes the new business avenue and keeps Pasadena streets orderly and pedestrian friendly.
Other suggestions for the city’s alfresco dining parking regulations for the planning commission to consider included:
- Parking lots – Allow outdoor dining within on-site parking areas up to 50 percent of the restaurant’s existing indoor dining area, including any bar area. Any square footage greater than 50 percent would require new or replacement parking. The new or replaced parking could be provided on-site or off-site.;
- Outdoor Areas – Allow outdoor dining in non-parking lot areas up to 500-square-feet. Any square footage greater would require parking to be provided either on-site or off-site.
- Setbacks – Require minimum setbacks and screening for dining areas that abut residential zones;
- Design – Model the design review process after the existing process for on-street dining areas.
- Operations – Continue to require restaurant operators to comply with existing operational standards, such as for outdoor activities, noise, and lighting.
- Other – Maintain required access for ADA parking, fire equipment, loading and refuse collection.
The item was information only, with commission members raising concerns about enforcement, as well as floating the prospect of expanding the scope of the regulations to include other businesses, such as bakeries. Pasadena Heritage and restaurateurs supported the proposal during public comment.
The changes will return to the Planning Commission, followed by the Ed-Tech Committee, before going before the City Council.