SLO parklets are officially here to stay. What are the city’s new rules for outdoor dining?
Ask anybody how they feel about parklets, and you’re likely to get an impassioned answer.
Supporters of the outdoor structures, which began popping up in cities across the United States during the coronavirus pandemic, appreciate the opportunity to eat outside in beautiful weather.
Opponents, however, say parklets take up valuable curbside parking spaces and block normal traffic patterns.
Taking these factors into consideration, the San Luis Obispo City Council on June 5 approved a permanent program to allow parklets in the city. At the same time, the city set up a slate of design standards and fees to help combat community members’ concerns.
Here are a few of the highlights of the new program and how it will be implemented.
Who can have parklets and where can they go?
According to Adam Fukushima, SLO’s active transportation manager, parklets can only be established on streets with on-street parking and whose posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or less.
They can be established by a property owner looking to expand outdoor dining, or could potentially be operated by a nonprofit or community group for special installations or non-commercial uses, Fukushima said during the June 5 meeting.
Anyone interested in operating a parklet needs to get a permit from the city, however.
An important thing to consider if your business wants to apply for a permit: the parklets must be “activated” — or in use — five days a week, for four hours each day.
“We heard during the public input that these things should be used and not just sitting idly,” Fukushima said. “We’re trying to find a balance between community needs of having these activated, but also balancing that with the needs of restaurant owners, especially now since there’s a lot of them are still dealing with staffing concerns and challenges. So we wanted to find a middle way.”
What can parklets look like?
The parklets have somewhat flexible design standards, mostly aimed at ensuring the structures are safe but also aesthetically pleasing, according to Fukushima.
The structures have to be made predominately out of wood or metal, Fukushima said. In addition, they have to be able to withstand impacts from a vehicle and include buffer zones, barriers and signage to help improve visibility and safety.
Parklets that take up two traditional parking spaces or more must also include a bike corral.
The parklets can’t include tents or pop-up canopies. And they cannot encroach on neighboring properties, according to the guidelines.
All associated features such as host stations and cleaning carts must be in the parklet itself, not on the sidewalk, so that they don’t impede foot traffic.
Plants are encouraged, Fukushima said.
“We really want to make this a beautiful space for people to dine, and also to reflect the beauty of our downtown,” he said.
Who will pay for parklets? And how much will they cost?
Because parklets are located on public property, businesses will be required to pay to have parklets.
The fees go to cover city costs such as the loss of parking revenue, weekly manual street sweeping, tree trimming and administration and inspection fees, Fukushima said.
That includes a one-time application fee of $908, and a use fee that would charge businesses based off of their parklet’s square footage.
That use fee would be phased in, according to Fukushima, and would charge businesses $21.13 per square foot — about $3,380 for an average parklet the size of a single parking spot — from January 2023 to June 2023. The fee would increase to $42.25 per square foot — about $6,760 for average sized parklet — in July 2023.
After that, fee increases would be based on the Consumer Price Index.
Though some business owners previously protested paying for parklet spaces, council members said it was necessary to charge for the parklets to help the city recoup its costs.
“As everybody has recognized, this is a private use for a public space, which means they have to pay for it,” Councilmember Carlyn Christianson said during the June 5 meeting. “My basic thing is these are parking spaces, they are supposed to be for parking. If they are going to be used by private businesses to make money, then the city and the community taxpayers need to be compensated with them so we can do things like build more parking garages and do other things with our income.”
How does a business apply for a parklet permit?
Business owners with existing parklets and those who wish to open a new one will have until Oct. 14 to apply for a permit.
Following Oct. 14, the city will begin working to remove any parklets that are unpermitted within two weeks, Fukushima said.
Following that deadline, permitted parklets will have 30 days to initiate any needed improvements to bring the structure into compliance, and 60 days to complete the work.
Fukishima said application packages will be available by the end of August.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the correct city fees for operating a parklet.
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