Dover considering increased parking space fees for outdoor dining. Here's what's proposed.

Ian Lenahan, Fosters Daily Democrat
·2 min read

DOVER — Restaurant owners looking to use the city’s public parking for the upcoming outdoor dining season could be subject to higher prices per space than years past.

The seven-member Dover Parking Commission on Tuesday approved upping the cost per parking space during outdoor dining season from $1,100 to $1,500, or a prorated fee for a shorter period. Voting against increasing the price of parking spaces for the 2023 outdoor dining season, scheduled to commence on April 15 and last into the fall, were commission members Thomas Masshingham and Anthony McManus.

Wing-itz at 274 Central Ave. was one of multiple Dover restaurants that utilized outdoor dining in the past. It used sidewalk space while others used parking spaces.
Wing-itz at 274 Central Ave. was one of multiple Dover restaurants that utilized outdoor dining in the past. It used sidewalk space while others used parking spaces.

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Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker said city staff considered the financial impact of not having some parking spaces available during the outdoor dining season, as well as the cost of barricades and the cost of staff time to install the barricades, among other factors, in their annual review of outdoor dining policies.

“The goal is to be cost neutral so that the taxpayer does not incur costs for user based programs,” he said. “In other words, we strive to have user fees cover the cost for these opportunities/services. All of that contributed to the determination that the cost per space should increase.”

Dover’s business development staff have engaged city business owners leading up to the proposed change to educate them on the potential impacts of the increased price per parking space, he added.

In Portsmouth:City reverts to 2022 outdoor dining rules for 2023. Why the new policy was ditched.

The Dover City Council unanimously voted to hold a public hearing on the proposed jump in parking space prices at its meeting on March 8

The Parking Commission, Parker told the City Council at its meeting Wednesday, cannot begin looking at outdoor dining applications until March 21.

“The goal is to hopefully have the public hearing on the 8th, vote on this and get it enacted, knowing the Parking Commission can’t review any requests until the 21st based on their scheduled meetings,” he said at the meeting.

The city, like others in the region, requires business owners to pay for renting city parking spaces through the spring and summer to offset lost revenue that the city otherwise charges for parking.

Dover’s outdoor dining, a fixture throughout the Seacoast that has grown in popularity and demand since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, requires that an applicant’s outdoor seating area not block access to public amenities like street furniture, trash receptacles, and way-finding or directional signs.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH mulls price hike for parking spaces used for outdoor dining