Council to Reconsider Proposed Sidewalk Café Policy

Encinitas may soon have a sidewalk café policy, but not before City Council irons out a few kinks in the draft. 

Wednesday night city staff presented the proposed policy, but some council members took issue with a few key points — including a $290 annual fee that business owners would have to pay if they wanted to offer sidewalk dining. Councilwoman Teresa Barth said she could understand charging that fee one time because a hefty amount of work goes into the review process initially but thought that the annual renewal fee should be lower, though she couldn't determine what the fee should be since the staff did not provide any explanation for how the amount had been calculated. Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar suggested offering a lower renewal rate as an incentive for business owners that had no policy violations. Mayor James Bond was the only councilman to support the fee, saying it could be argued that this sidewalk space is extra square footage with no rent being paid on it.  

Council directed city staff to do an internal study breaking down what the $290 fee covers, and then return to council with that information.  

The owners of have also expressed concerns over the proposed policy because the sidewalk in front of their coffee shop is so narrow that they cannot have outdoor tables without infringing on the pedestrian right-of-way, which would would violate the new policy. Losing that outdoor seating would greatly hurt business, the owners have said. 

During discussion, council agreed that while most of the city has sidewalks wide enough for tables and pedestrians, there are some parts of town — namely those on the south side of downtown — that are at a disadvantage due to narrow sidewalks. Therefore, some businesses, such as Surfdog Java Hut, should be eligible for exceptions.

Per that discussion, staff will look into the possibility of including site-specific review in the sidewalk café policy. Staff was also directed to clearly define how food retailers, such as convenience stores, will fit into the sidewalk dining policy.

Once city staff has gathered all the requested information, the proposed sidewalk café policy will come back to council for another review. That’s anticipated to happen soon, though no specific timeframe was provided. 

Correction: The original version of this story stated that Councilwoman Barth would be willing to support a $290 renewal fee. She actually said she supported a lower annual renewal fee but couldn't determine what that fee should be becasue staff hadn't provided any explanation for how the amount had been calculated. Patch regrets the error.