Elk Grove Allowing Restaurants To Temporarily Expand Outdoor Seating
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — The City Elk Grove is letting restaurants temporarily expand their outdoor dining areas to help them cope with social distancing restrictions.
On Thursday, city leaders announced that a local emergency order had been issued to allow the expansion of outdoor dining. It comes ahead of the anticipated release of the Sacramento County guidelines that will allow dine-in service, which has stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic, to resume.
"It's important to do whatever we can to support our local businesses and protect the health and safety of the community," said Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly in a release announcing the order.
While restaurants will soon be able to offer dine-in service, strict guidelines will be in place to maintain social distancing and stop the spread of coronavirus. These guidelines will cut indoor dining capacities, sometimes by half.
The order tries to offset that loss by allowing restaurants to expand their outdoor seating.
Still, the city will have several conditions for restaurants to ensure that the new temporary dining areas don't block traffic or impede accessibility.
Elk Grove leaders say the order will only be in effect until the local emergency ends.