Morro Bay gives the go-ahead for more outdoor dining, street vendors
With some local businesses fighting for survival, the Morro Bay City Council unanimously passed two measures approving expanded outdoor dining and retail opportunities and sidewalk and mobile vending.
On Tuesday, the council gave the go-ahead to the temporary measures that will allow businesses such as restaurants and retail stores to use expanded seating and tables on sidewalks in commercial areas.
Streets vendors will be able to use the sidewalks as well, with certain limitations, and roaming vendors with mobile businesses will also be allowed.
Under state guidelines for restaurant reopenings, tables must be spaced apart at least six feet and building occupancy must be adjusted to those safety measures; some businesses have lost up to half of their seating capacity.
“Losing up to 50% seating capacity (due to coronavirus safety guidelines) is a big deal for restaurants,” said Scot Graham, the city’s community development director. “This is a way for them to make up needed revenue.”
Morro Bay’s plan resembles steps take by the San Luis Obispo City Council. Its Open SLO initiative, adopted May 22, includes outdoor dining and business use of sidewalk space.
But Morro Bay won’t close any city streets, as San Luis Obispo plans to do on the weekends.
Multiple Morro Bay business owners wrote to the council, advocating for outdoor business policy changes.
Dutchman’s Seafood House owner Paul Van Beurden said his restaurant was “gut punched by the COVID-19 pandemic and we are struggling to survive the economic crisis it has brought on us.”
Van Beurden wrote in a letter to the city that the restaurant, which has 28 employees, suffered an 85% drop in revenue. Outdoor dining would help because social distancing requirements limit space for diners inside, he wrote.
“The ideas for outdoor dining and sidewalk vending are nothing new,” Van Beurden wrote. “This measure would be a much-needed win-win for all businesses and of course the city alike (with increased sales tax generation).
How outdoor dining will work in Morro Bay
The city of Morro Bay has an existing policy on outdoor dining downtown that allows two tables per restaurant that must be moved inside at the end of day. Businesses must also pay an annual $292 permit fee.
On Tuesday, the council waived the two-table outdoor limit, allowing city staff discretion on the total number, and extended the permitting to four citywide commercial districts, while temporarily eliminating the annual permit fee.
Merchandise sales also are being added to the existing outdoor dining policy.
Under the new, temporary policy, tables, chairs and other seating must maintain six feet of social distancing in the city’s four commercial areas. Up to 50% of private parking lots can also be used for the outdoor seating.
The policy is valid for the next six months and allows Graham to extend the policy for another six months beyond that. The new process still would require city permitting for businesses.
Buttercup Bakery & Cafe and The Siren, a bar and concert venue, are both expected to use their outdoor space The businesses worked with local design firm RRM to plan outdoor arrangements.
“I’m very excited about these opportunities,” Councilmember Dawn Addis said. “I talked about outdoor dining when I was campaigning and wasn’t sure it would ever happen. I don’t want to say COVID is good, because it’s not, but when we’re looking for silver linings, this could be one of them.”
DiStasio’s On the Bay owner Ken MacMillan said he already has a large outdoor dining area at his restaurant, but believes similar set-ups will help businesses across the city welcome customers.
“The visual of outside diners, for me anyway, says ‘Welcome,’ ” MacMillan wrote in a letter to the city. “There needs to be some level of control so it does not get out of hand, but I believe the individual business owners will take responsibility for this since it will help everyone to add more vibrancy to the environment.”
Morro Bay resident Lorrin French, a third generation the city’s chambers economic development assistant, wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic has “undoubtedly affected visitor traffic, of which many of our small businesses are dependent during peak seasons.”
“Embarcadero shops and restaurants are particularly vulnerable because of the increased overhead,” French wrote in a letter to the city. “Absent immediate and significant intervention, many long-established business models will simply no longer be viable.”
New city policy allows street vendors
In addition to approving outdoor dining, the council moved forward with a new ordinance for roaming and stationary vendors that will require an obligatory review at its next meeting for formal adoption.
Under the draft ordinance, vending is allowed on sidewalks 10 feet of width or greater.
Vendors must obtain permits and maintain at least four feet of unobstructed sidewalk and walkways, in addition to displaying their sidewalk vendor permits and carrying insurance.
Certain areas in the city are be prohibited from street vendor sales, such as the Morro Strand campground and Morro Bay Golf Course. Other areas offer limited access for vendors, such as Embarcadero Road, which must maintain harbor walkway access space.
Roaming vendors would be allowed in areas that include commercial district streets and city parks, such as Centennial Parkway, City Park, Cloisters Community Park and Lila Keiser Park.
The city will charge a street vendor permit fee of $325 and issue fines to those in violation. The city will monitor safety due to overcrowding, and limit the number of permits accordingly.
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