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The Danville Town Council last week approved a resolution that will see expanded outdoor dining options such as parklets remain on the table for two additional years.
The unanimous vote means that in addition to the extension, new requirements and fees will be in place for businesses seeking to continue operating parklets and expanded patios, following months of council discussion on design, safety and fiscal concerns associated with some current operations.
The extension also means that businesses can continue the use of temporary land-use permits in order to operate compliant expanded outdoor spaces under the new requirements.
“These standards focus on the overall design for the outdoor dining areas, offering options for modular prefabricated designs or custom design build options, as well as establishing safety, maintenance, and operation standards,” the town’s chief of planning, David Crompton, in an announcement on Wednesday after the council meeting.
In study sessions going back as far as August, council members expressed support for extending provisions for expanded outdoor dining, but sought to address concerns they saw around safety and design. The extension is the product of those study sessions and other discussions in recent months, as officials considered how to proceed with outdoor dining following the expiration of current guidelines at the end of the year.
Under the new standards, businesses will be able to select from modular design approved by town officials or pursue custom options under certain requirements. They would also be required to have safety, maintenance and operation standards in place.
The new requirements also prohibit the use of tents or outdoor canopies, meaning that businesses currently using these options for outdoor dining will have to find other means after the start of the new year.
Although outdoor dining has proven to remain popular as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, town officials sought to make it clear that the extension was still a temporary measure, meant to make the shift back toward normal restaurant operations easier.
In addition, the new requirements are anticipated to curb the overall number of parklets in Danville.
“It is adding a temporary inexpensive solution,” Mayor Newell Arnerich said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Yes there is some parking loss, but the expectation is based on the number of restaurants that will be able to keep these. It’s going to be very few parklets that are left.”
Despite the new requirements’ goal of addressing the concerns raised over the use of outdoor dining areas that sprung up on the streets of downtown following the onset of COVID-19, not all residents or business owners were supportive of the extension itself or the new requirements.
In a public comment, Doug Offenhartz said that while he was happy to see the council seeking to address these concerns, he was disappointed by the prefabricated designs they’d selected and pushed for a requirement of at least 15% landscaping.
“The color that you get from the plants is what makes the custom ones look good, and I know you can put some prefab planters on top of the prefab parklet but you need landscaping to soften, to make it look attractive,” Offenhartz said.
Arnerich emphasized that the use of expanded outdoor dining spaces such as parklets were never meant to be permanent, and that the improvised structures had drawn traffic, safety and aesthetic complaints from residents.
“They’re not really great looking places, and the reason for them has gone,” Arnerich said. “So … keep that in mind. It’s not going to be here forever. It’s 24 months, and it’s a compromise that some council members have asked for.”
Councilmember Renee Morgan echoed Arnerich’s characterization of the extension as a compromise, and emphasized her support for the removal of tent and canopy structures by the Jan. 3 deadline under the measure.
“We have always as a council made an effort to make sure that the businesses flourish during a temporary health order as well, and we’ve done our part,” Morgan said. “I definitely want to see the tents go down Jan. 3. I’m glad we decided that we’re not going to keep kicking that can, giving a concise order on that,”
Arnerich also pointed to the upcoming Downtown Master Plan update that is set to increase public outdoor spaces in the downtown core via the use of some funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“The reason we’re doing this is that we have a (master plan) we’re working on that’s going to take a few years to implement,” Arnerich said. “This is more like an interim step because as we have opportunities going forward we want to level the playing field financially. In some ways it’s not, but that’s why it’s still temporary.”
The new requirements and fee schedule will go into place on Jan. 3, and are set to remain in place for two years, until Jan. 2, 2025.
