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.”
Read the full story: Dallas Is Trying to Not Kill Sidewalk Cafes, But Old Habits Are Hard to Break
A New Vision for Dallas’ Dealey Plaza
After decades of neglect, a team of designers reimagines the infamous plaza as a safe, vibrant, multimodal public space.
Where Words Fail: Teach Architects and Urban Designers Like Violinists
Architects and urban designers justify or explain their work with words, and municipalities govern design with jargon-filled regulations. The outcome is often underwhelming.
Unequal Distribution of Shade Is Environmental Injustice
A longread, written by Sam Boch and published by Places Journal, has been creating a stir online and is highly recommended for those with an interest in intersections between social justice and urban design.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello