This Bay Area city is requiring restaurants to have ‘letters of consent’ to keep outdoor seating

PALO ALTO — Palo Alto’s outdoor restaurant scene could look dramatically different next year after city leaders voted to require “letters of consent” from neighboring businesses before restaurant parklets and outdoor seating continue on public streets — something the eatery owners say is bad move for downtown.

In a close 4-3 vote, the city council also voted to require restaurant owners doing business on public streets to address concerns by some retailers that the pandemic-era parking and seating has meant less street visibility for their nearby businesses.

“This is a squeamish issue,” Councilman Eric Filseth said. “When you have your own property, you can do what you want on your own property, as long as it’s within zoning code. Now we’re talking about implied rights of use on public property.”

While city council members argued over the right approach to parklets, Filseth described the “letter of consent” rule as the lesser of two evils.

When public health officials warned people to stay inside and ordered restaurants and other businesses to shut their doors as the coronavirus pandemic intensified in 2020, parklets were seen as an innovative, new lifeline for restaurants to continue operating and conform with health orders.

Across the Bay Area almost three years later, parklets have become a mainstay of popular commercial strips and have transformed once car-centric areas into vibrant, pedestrian friendly community centers rife with local culture and activity. In places like Mountain View, city leaders have doubled down on their commitment to pandemic-era public spaces that people have grown to love and depend on.

Last year Mountain View leaders voted to turn Castro Street into a permanent pedestrian mall without cars, expanding the ability of restaurants and businesses to utilize public space and opening new doors to cultural events and quality of life improvements at the city’s center.

Other cities on the Peninsula like Menlo Park, Burlingame and Redwood City have also supported keeping parklets and outdoor seating and created guidelines to ensure the safety of makeshift structures. But other cities like Palo Alto are backing down on this pandemic-era innovation.

The Palo Alto city council also extended until June 2023 the city’s interim parklet program, which was set to end Dec, 31. In the meantime, officials will create a new city law governing the building and operating of parklets. City officials also said they will likely impose a fee  — between $8,000 to $10,000 annually — for downtown outdoor restaurants and about $4,000 for those beyond the University Avenue area.

Nancy Coupal, owner and CEO of the Coupa Cafe chain, said the new law is not going to be good for downtown. Coupa Cafe on Ramona Avenue has long benefitted from parklets and extended outdoor seating, she said, and taking that away would hurt her business and the downtown’s vibrancy.

“Contrary to what some landlords may say, parklets have definitely contributed to the livelihood and continued existence of restaurants, which are the primary business promoting Palo Alto as a destination for visitors,” Coupal said. “Retail has suffered as times have changed.”

Coupal supported the parklet fee option, but not the plan to require neighbors’ consent.

Megan Kawkab, owner of Ruby’s Pub, said she was one of the first people in the city to build a roofed parklet, which she has used for almost two years without a problem. She opposed charging restaurants to use public spaces, arguing the revenue brought to city by hungry customers paying sales tax should be enough.