Seasonal outdoor dining permit approved for Broadway restaurants
NEWPORT — The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution allowing Broadway restaurants to install seasonal outdoor dining patios for the summer tourist season on Wednesday.
Although the restaurants now have permission for these spaces, the City Council is still planning to vote on an ordinance to regulate these spaces, now called “street cafes.” A draft of this ordinance was attached to Wednesday’s resolution and will have to be reviewed by the City Solicitor before the City Council can vote to adopt it at a later meeting.
“I think we have been able to find a solution that works for the public, residents as well as restaurants, and I think enhances Broadway overall and really will improve all of Newport,” Councilor Jamie Bova said on Wednesday. “I look forward to seeing the success of these.”
Restaurants along Broadway have had temporary outdoor dining spaces in place since 2020 when City Manager Joseph Nicholson permitted them through an executive order, and the restaurant owners have credited the patios with helping them weather the indoor dining restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
The order was extended in 2021 but expired again at the beginning of this year, prompting a coalition of Broadway restaurants to request the city to allow them permanently. After holding a workshop on the topic, the City Council designated Councilor Charles Holder to draft a resolution to give the restaurants permission to use the parking spaces outside their establishments but asked the restauranteurs to return to them with a standardized design for the patios to be included as a part of a future ordinance.
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The restaurants submitted this design plan for the patios, which was received and attached to the resolution on Wednesday. The design specifies the patios to be enclosed by white jersey barriers separated by landscaping and plants and include colorful umbrellas to “add to the aesthetic appeal of each restaurant’s outdoor areas.”
“Please make it look better than it looks now,” Councilor Kathryn Leonard said at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “It really leaves so much to be desired every time I drive down Broadway.”
In addition to the design plan for the spaces, the draft ordinance attached to the resolution outlines more requirements for a new “street cafe permit” which Broadway restaurants would have to apply and pay a $1,500 fee for each year in order to set up their outdoor dining spaces.
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The draft ordinance only allows the permit to be valid between May 1 and Oct. 31 of each year, and the cafe will have to close and be removed from the parking spaces no later than 11 p.m. It also requires alcohol to be served only in conjunction with food being served as well, and prohibits cooking, advertisements, and outdoor entertainment in the spaces.
While the draft ordinance already includes a requirement for businesses to adhere to regulations outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Councilor Charles Holder asked to amend the resolution to include the requirement on Wednesday night. He said he wanted the resolution to be more in line with the draft ordinance on this issue and Councilor Jamie Bova said its inclusion in the resolution reinforces its importance. The amendment was unanimously added to the resolution.
During discussion, Councilor Angela McCalla asked to clarify the need for businesses to meet accessibility standards not just for the outdoor dining space itself but for the adjacent street and sidewalks as a part of the ADA requirements. She said this would make sure the street cafes would not impose barriers to transportation in the city.
“We don’t want the barriers to become some sort of obstruction towards people trying to travel throughout the city as well,” McCalla said.
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One of the people who contacted the City Council regarding disability access, Jamestown resident Peter Converse, came forward to thank the council for the amendment.
“It really wouldn’t be too difficult and (the restaurant owners) seemed very amenable to putting in a ramp which would either be retractable or removable or temporary, so I just wanted to get up here and thank you all,” Converse said.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Outdoor dining on Broadway, Newport, permit plan approved
