Paso Robles is ending restaurant parklet program. What’s next for businesses?
Restaurants in downtown Paso Robles must remove their parklets by Nov. 1, 2021, but the city will allow individual restaurants to file for extended parklet permits, according to a recent news release.
Carole MacDonal, who owns La Cosecha Bar + Restaurant and Il Cortile Ristorante in Paso Robles, said that she will be filing for the extension.
She said about half of her customers prefer dining outdoors in the parklets she’s established at both restaurants.
“People want to be out there and they insist on being out there,” MacDonal said. “They don’t want to be seated inside.”
Restaurant parklets designed to aid economic recovery during COVID-19
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of California required restaurants comply with enhanced health and safety regulations, such as social distancing of tables and reduced restaurant capacity.
MacDonal said that she moved roughly 35% of her tables from inside her restaurant to outdoor parklets to comply with these regulations.
By waving or deferring permit fees, the council allowed many local restaurants to build parklets or sidewalk cafes that spilled into public right-of-ways and private parking lots, with the understanding that the parklets would come down this November.
“The ones we have currently up are temporary parklets and were always intended to be that way,” said Ty Lewis, Paso Robles city manager. “We don’t have any regulations regarding design type, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, cleanliness standards, and we’re giving up city right-of-way costs.”
“There’s a whole bunch of factors that need to be evaluated and planned for, for the city to move forward with permanent parklets,” Lewis said.
The board of directors for the Paso Robles Main Street Association issued a statement of support on Aug. 9, 2021, for shuttering restaurant parklets by Nov. 1, noting it was a “temporary response due to an emergency situation.”
The Main Street Association directors said that they’re not against parklets, but that they want them to be equitable and beneficial to all businesses in downtown Paso Robles.
While the majority of businesses that adopted parklets were restaurants, board president Derek Bettencourt noted that there are many other types of businesses downtown, including retail shops.
“We want to be cautious and courteous to all the different industries that we have in our downtown,” Bettencourt said.
Could city make parklets permanent in Paso Robles?
According to Lewis, the city of Paso Robles recognized that many diners prefer eating outdoors due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
That’s why the City Council agreed at its Sept. 7 meeting to move forward with developing a program for permanent parklets and outdoor dining, he said.
Parklets likely won’t be on the city’s agenda again until after Jan. 1, 2022 because the city has other development priorities, Lewis said.
MacDonal said that she intends to join an ad hoc committee to discuss permanent parklets in Paso Robles.
“If we knew that we would be able to keep the parklets, then certainly our plan for both of our restaurants was to develop and produce an absolutely stunning parklet — something attractive, that fit with the city feeling, and is functional for all seasons,” MacDonal said. “I just didn’t really want to spend the money until I knew if it was going to be permanent or not. “
She added that parklets add a sense of “vibrancy and excitement” to Paso Robles’ downtown.
“It’s like a European palazzo feeling,” MacDonal said.
SLO preserves spaces for outdoor dining
Paso Robles isn’t the only Central Coast city that’s experimented with parklets.
The city of San Luis Obispo established parklets in its downtown area in May 2020 as part of its OpenSLO program to aid local businesses in their economic recovery from COVID-19. Roughly 40 parklets were constructed at the start of the pandemic, and about 30 are still in use.
The San Luis Obispo City Council voted unanimously to make its parklet program permanent in July, citing the cultural benefits of using outdoor spaces for dining.
Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin said he has recused himself from discussions of the North County city’s parklet program due to potential conflict of interest because of his ties to local businesses. Martin said other council members have also recused themselves for similar reasons.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
