Cities in Santa Cruz County, California are making outdoor dining laws permanent, and some businesses are getting sticker shock at the extra cost of maintaining the pandemic-era expansion of al fresco dining.
Jurisdictions in Santa Cruz County are in the process of overhauling the temporary, emergency outdoor dining rules put in place during the pandemic, according to an article by Thomas Sawano for Lookout Santa Cruz, with the purpose of making parklets permanently safe and economically feasible.
According to a Lookout estimate, 81 Santa Cruz County businesses are operating parklets for outdoor dining spaces in former street parking spaces—not even counting the “large number of businesses with dining spaces in their private parking lots.”
Some cities in the county, however, are busy crafting new regulations for the parklets, adding costs and uncertainty about the ability of businesses to continue operating the spaces. Sawano provides more detail:
Capitola’s city council passed a permanent outdoor dining ordinance in December 2021 that limited the number of parking spaces businesses could use for dining space to 25 and introduced new design requirements and guidelines for semi-permanent street dining setups. In Santa Cruz, an ordinance establishing a permanent parklet program passed its first reading before its city council on Oct. 25. It is slated for final review Tuesday.
The changes will cost “big bucks” in some cases, according to sources cited by Sawano in the article below.
FULL STORY: Santa Cruz County’s parklets are here to stay. What will they look like now?
The Slow Retreat of Pandemic-Era Outdoor Dining Programs Continues
It’s been almost three years since the political dynamics of outdoor dining in the United States shifted, suddenly and overwhelmingly. Increasingly, the status quo is being restored.
Open Streets and Outdoor Dining Are Best for Business, Report Says
Most business owners believe that they'd be out of business without on-street parking near their front door. The experience of New York City during the pandemic proves otherwise.
Opinion: Keep Outdoor Dining Without Thwarting Creativity
While New York City's effort to make its outdoor dining program permanent is a welcome reimagining of public space, some worry that regulations will reduce design diversity and increase costs for small restauranteurs.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie