A City Council committee got its first look at a proposed revision of the streetscape licensing process by which restaurants and cafés can acquire sidewalk seating. Councilmembers sent the plan back the drawing board again.
Last year, the Dallas City Council asked planners to rethink the city’s “streetscape licensing” process, especially the onerous fees that were required of any restaurant or café hoping to go al fresco.
Under a proposed revision, reviewed this week by the City Council's Economic Development Committee, “there would be a two-year pilot program during which businesses would be charged one-time ‘streetscape license fee’ of $250 for sidewalk cafes, awnings, sidewalk retail, and the like. Sidewalk cafes would be charged an additional annual fee of between $300 and $1,000 depending on the number of tables and chairs. These would have to comply with to-be-determined ‘sidewalk cafe standards,’” according to a report by Eric Nicholson.
Councilman Scott Griggs did not react well to the lingering presence of fees: "It's anti-urban -- and I also think it's anti-free market -- to charge all these fees."
“By the end of the meeting, a loose consensus had emerged around a one-time, $250 streetscape fee and minimal regulations. Council members instructed [city planner] Cossum to come back with a streamlined proposal.”
FULL STORY: Dallas Is Trying to Not Kill Sidewalk Cafes, But Old Habits Are Hard to Break
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.