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The Pasadena City Council’s Economic Development and Technology Committee will discuss new sidewalk, alley and on-street dining permit fees that are proposed to be included in the City’s General Fee Schedule next year during a special meeting Wednesday, June 1, starting at 4 p.m.
Through the EDTech Committee, the Department of Public Works and the Planning and Community Development Departments are also proposing new design guidelines for on-street dining installations that may start to be enforced this September, the meeting’s agenda showed.
These proposals are expected to be elevated to the full City Council in about two weeks, or by June 13, the agenda showed. This will require amendments to the City’s Sidewalk Dining on Public Walkways Ordinance which the City Council adopted early in 2020 so local restaurants could remain in operation as COVID-19 restrictions were being put in place.
Pasadena started allowing outdoor dining along sidewalks, alleys and portions of barricaded streets in May 2020 after it passed an amendment to the Declaration of Local Emergency relating to restaurants and retail businesses. Although the City set a fee schedule, permit fees were waived in support of local businesses suffering the pandemic’s impact. These fees will continue to be waived through June 30, according to the City Council’s direction.
As proposed for fiscal year 2023, the base rates for outdoor permit applications will be categorized by three business improvement districts (BID) including Old Pasadena Management District, Playhouse Village and South Lake. Non-BID areas will have a different base rate.
For the 2022 fee schedule, rates were calculated on a per-street or street segment basis.
As shown in a preliminary report by the Public Works Department, the proposed outdoor dining permit fees will range from $11 to $14 per square foot per year for sidewalks and alleys, and from $7 to $8.50 for on-street dining in the BID zones. Non-BID zones could charge $4.25 per square foot per year for sidewalks and alley permit fees, and $4 for on-street fees.
The City hosted a webinar on May 4 to present and discuss the proposed fees, with approximately 50 restaurant owners or representatives, and BID representatives attending.
As for the proposed design guidelines, the Public Works Department and the Planning and Community Development Department said they are recommending that outdoor dining facilities should be designed such that “all components of the dining units work together as a well-designed comprehensive whole.”
Wednesday’s special EDTech Committee meeting can be accessed via http://pasadena.granicus.com/
Public comments may be submitted before the meeting through www.cityofpasadena.net/
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