Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout050322-08.19.1 ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF REPORT 8.1 TO: Mayor and Town Council May 3, 2022 SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 2022-03, temporarily suspending outdoor seating limitations for restaurant uses within the Town of Danville, authorizing extension of temporary Land Use Permits and approving street closures with a temporary waiver of Danville Ordinance No. 96-10 BACKGROUND To comply with Health Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Town began issuing Temporary Land Use Permits (TLUPs) in early June 2020. The TLUPs allowed restaurants to create or expand outdoor seating in a manner that would allow them to operate at up to 100 percent of their pre-pandemic occupancies. This included expansion of seating on private property, public sidewalk areas, and on public streets through the creation of parklets. These TLUPs were extended administratively two times, and also extended two times by the Town Council. The most recent Town Council extension allowed the continuation of the TLUP through June 30, 2022. During the Town Council’s April 5, 2022, meeting, the Town Council discussed the status and future of TLUPs and directed Town staff to prepare an ordinance which would allow for the extension of the TLUPs, and the waiver of Danville Ordinance No. 96-10 related to the consumption of alcohol in the public right-of-way, through January 3, 2023. DISCUSSION Recommended Ordinance No. 2022-03 (Attachment A) would allow for the extension of the TLUPs, street closures, and consumption of alcohol in the public right-of-way until January 3, 2023. The Ordinance also contains the following provision to address concerns that were raised by the Town Council: •Allows for non-amplified outdoor music and entertainment only; •Requires that garbage bins be kept in approved garbage enclosure, and not within public parking lots or rights-of-way (except for pick-ups); •Requires that garbage bin areas, enclosures, and pick-up areas be maintained to allow easy access by the garbage collection provider; •Requires the business operator to keep the outdoor seating area clear of litter and debris; Status Update - TLUPs 2 May 3, 2022 •Requires outdoor dining areas, structures and barriers related to outdoor seating be maintained in a clean, like-new condition; •Requires dilapidated materials related to the outdoor dining areas, such as ripped or dirty canopies be repaired and/or cleaned on an ongoing basis. Any dilapidated materials, such as wood railing or plywood would be required to be replaced or painted and maintained in a like-new condition; •Requires that existing parklets on Church Street, both east and west of Hartz Avenue, be modified to allow for two-way traffic. The Town has determined that if these parklets are modified to extend a maximum of eight feet from the curb, Church Street could safely accommodate two-way traffic (see Attachment B). •Requires that all outdoor seating areas comply with the Town’s Sign Control Ordinance. PUBLIC CONTACT Notice of this hearing was published in a newspaper of general circulation. All TLUP applicants were notified, as well as businesses located adjacent to parklets in historic downtown Danville. Posting of the meeting agenda serves as notice to the general public. FISCAL IMPACT None. RECOMMENDATION Discuss the status and future of expanded outdoor restaurant seating. Prepared by: David Crompton Chief of Planning Reviewed by: Tai J. Williams Assistant Town Manager Attachments: A - Ordinance No. 2022-03 B – Church St. Parklet Exhibit ORDINANCE NO. 2022-03 TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING OUTDOOR SEATING LIMITATIONS FOR RESTAURANT USES WITHIN THE TOWN OF DANVILLE, AUTHORIZING EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY LAND USE PERMITS AND APPROVING SPECIFIED STREET CLOSURES WITH A WAIVER OF DANVILLE ORDINANCE NO. 96-10 The Danville Town Council does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. FINDINGS In enacting this ordinance, the Town Council makes the following findings: 1.With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of California declared a state of emergency on March 4, 2020. The Town of Danville declared a local state of emergency on March 17, 2020. Both of those declarations remain in effect. 2.As a means of slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protecting public health, the State of California and Contra Costa County adopted regulations limiting or prohibiting indoor seating and service for restaurants. 3.To protect public health and assist local restaurants in continuing to operate, the Town began issuing Temporary Land Use Permits (TLUPs) in May 2020, allowing restaurants to create or expand outdoor seating, up to 100% of their overall seating capacity prior to the pandemic. For those properties without the ability to expand their outdoor seating on private property, the Town also authorized the installation of “Parklets” in the public right-of-way. 4.The TLUPs were issued by the Town’s Chief of Planning using existing authority contained in the Town’s zoning ordinance. That authority is limited to allowing seating up to, but not exceeding, pre-pandemic levels. 5.On June 15, 2021, the State lifted all capacity restrictions on indoor seating for restaurants. 6.On July 6, 2021, the Town Council adopted Ordinance No. 2021-02, allowing for the temporary continuation of the outdoor restaurant seating previously authorized by the TLUPs issued by the Chief of Planning and continued the approval of the use of public right-of-way for outdoor seating previously approved by the Town Council. On December 21, 2021, the Town Council adopted Ordinance No. 2021-05, further extending the TLUPs and use of right-of-way for seating through June 30, 2022. 7.During a Town Council hearing on April 5, 2022, to consider further extension of the TLUPs, the Council heard testimony from restaurants regarding the number of customers who remain uncomfortable with indoor dining until next steps are determined, some resulting from adoption of the Downtown Master Plan, currently being drafted. DocuSign Envelope ID: F1C94BB7-77AD-4BBF-83DB-9868A296D589 ATTACHMENT A SECTION 2. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR RESTAURANT OUTDOOR SEATING AND AUTHORIZATION TO ISSUE AND EXTEND TEMPORARY LAND USE PERMITS FOR OUTDOOR SEATING A. Effective July 1, 2022, through January 3, 2023, the following parking requirements for restaurant outdoor seating are suspended for the term of this Ordinance for those restaurants obtaining a temporary land use permit subject to the conditions of approval described in subsection B: 1.Danville Municipal Code Section 32-45.34m for restaurants located in the Downtown Business District; and 2.Site specific parking requirements contained in P-1 zoning districts and incorporated into the Town’s zoning ordinance by Danville Municipal Code Section 32-63.5b. B. Pursuant to Danville Municipal Code Section 32-45.10, the Chief of Planning may issue temporary land use permits for expanded outdoor seating as authorized by subsection A. above, subject to the following conditions of approval: 1.Outdoor music and entertainment are permitted without amplification. Any proposed outdoor amplified music and entertainment must receive approval from the Chief of Planning. 2.Unless otherwise approved, all garbage bins shall be located within approved garbage enclosures. Garbage bin areas, enclosures, and pick-up areas shall be maintained to allow easy access by the garbage collection provider. No garbage shall be kept in public parking lots or in the public right-of-way or placed in locations that cause impacts to neighboring businesses. As required by Danville Municipal Code Section 32-45.25a.(c)(4), the permit holder shall be responsible for keeping the outdoor seating area clear of litter and debris. In addition, all outdoor dining areas, structures, and barriers be maintained in a clean, like new conditions. All outdoor seating materials such as ripped or dirty canopies shall be repaired and/or cleaned on an ongoing basis. Any dilapidated materials, such as wood railing or plywood shall be replaced or painted and maintained in a like new condition. 3.Parklets on Church Street, both east and west of Hartz Avenue, shall be modified to allow for two-way traffic. These parklets shall be permitted to encroach a maximum of eight feet into the public right-of-way, subject to review and approval by the Town’s Transportation Manager. 4.TLUPs shall be subject to all applicable provisions of the Town’s zoning ordinance, including the Town’s sign regulations, and health and safety requirements for restaurants. 5.The Town shall have the authority to remove or alter parklets, at the business owners’ expense, as may be needed to maintain public safety. 6.Failure to comply with these conditions of approval may result in the immediate revocation of the temporary Land Use Permit. DocuSign Envelope ID: F1C94BB7-77AD-4BBF-83DB-9868A296D589 C. This ordinance shall remain in effect until January 3, 2023. No vested rights to outdoor seating beyond that otherwise permitted are created by adoption of this Ordinance. SECTION 3. AUTHORIZING STREET CLOSURES FOR TEMPORARY OUTDOOR RESTAURANT SEATING AND GRANTING AN EXEMPTION FROM DANVILLE ORDINANCE NO. 96-10, ALLOWING FOR CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES WITHIN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY A. Pursuant to the authority of California Vehicle Code Section 21101(e) and Danville Municipal Code Section 4-14.2b, the Danville Town Council approves partial street closures for outdoor restaurant seating and grants an exemption to Danville Ordinance No. 96-10 allowing for the consumption of alcoholic beverages within the public right-of-way, subject to the following conditions: 1.The area of any street closure and the right to serve or consume alcoholic beverages shall be limited to that authorized through a Temporary Land Use Permit issued by the Town for outdoor restaurant seating, as provided for in Section 2 of this Ordinance. 2.The term for any street closure and exemption from Ordinance No. 96-10 shall be coterminous with the expiration of this Ordinance. SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION DATE This Ordinance shall be effective from July 1, 2022, through January 3, 2023 SECTION 5. CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT The Town Council finds that adoption of this ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) because the temporary suspension of outdoor seating limits for restaurants within the Town, allowing for the continuation of such uses during the ongoing state of emergency, will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2)) and it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the ordinance will have a significant impact on the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)). SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The Danville Town Council hereby declares that they would have adopted the ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases was declared invalid. DocuSign Envelope ID: F1C94BB7-77AD-4BBF-83DB-9868A296D589 SECTION 7. PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE The City Clerk shall have a summary of this ordinance published twice in a newspaper of general circulation, once within five (5) days before its adoption and once within 15 (fifteen) days after adoption. This ordinance shall become effective on July 1, 2022. The foregoing Ordinance was introduced on May 3, 2022, and approved and adopted by the Danville Town Council at a regular meeting on May 17, 2022, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSTAINED: ABSENT: MAYOR APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST: CITY ATTORNEY CITY CLERK CLERK'S CERTIFICATE I, Marie Sunseri, City Clerk of the Town of Danville, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and accurate copy of Ordinance No. 2022-03 of said Town and that said ordinance was published according to law. Dated: __________________________ _________________________________ City Clerk of the Town of Danville DocuSign Envelope ID: F1C94BB7-77AD-4BBF-83DB-9868A296D589 ALBATROSS COCINA HERMANAS DANVILLE HARVEST H A R T Z A V E CHURCH ST CHURCH CT LEGEND Full Lane Closure 1-way Traffic Circulation Temporary Outdoor Seating Areas Church Street/Court Existing Conditions (1-way traffic)ATTACHMENT B 8’ x 50’ ALBATROSS COCINA HERMANAS DANVILLE HARVEST H A R T Z A V E CHURCH ST CHURCH CT LEGEND 8-foot wide Parklets 2-way Traffic Circulation Temporary Outdoor Seating Areas Church Street/Court Proposed Conditions (2-way traffic) 8’ x 50’8’ x 40’