Davis initiative looking to revitalize, streamline outdoor dining downtown clears another hurdle
DAVIS — The Davis City Council voted to pass municipal code updates on Tuesday night that will allow its Downtown Outdoor Dining Program to move forward.
If the final project is approved, the hope is that the city initiative will revitalize outdoor dining downtown and remove barriers so more downtown businesses can expand their footprint into public spaces, including the surrounding sidewalks and parking spaces, with the proper permitting.
"What the city saw as a result of the pandemic was this urgent need to figure out how to get people dining outdoors," said Katie Yancey, the city's economic development director. "The tools that we used which were cobbled together in an urgent state, we needed to perfect them a little bit. We needed to make them more uniform, more consistent."
The main goal of the Downtown Outdoor Dining Program is to make it easier for restaurants that do not currently have outdoor dining options to obtain them, leveling the playing field between newer and more well-established businesses.
The city also wants to streamline the encroachment permits currently issued to about 18 restaurants in the downtown district that already utilize structures for outdoor dining on sidewalks and in parking spaces.
This would bring every business under the same clear standards for things like fees paid to the city, alcohol compliance, insurance and the aesthetic of the structure.
"This is creating certainty, and certainty is the cornerstone of economic development," Yancey said.
Burgers and Brew, a popular downtown restaurant, sits at the corner of Central Park; it has had its encroachment permit since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant operates outdoor dining in a structure that occupies former parking spaces outside its business.
"People in Davis do like to dine outdoors. A lot of people are still COVID-conscious. They like this outdoor seating arrangement that we have. I feel like it keeps us busy," said Courtney Crawford, a manager at Burgers and Brew.
Crawford added that it was not easy for the restaurant owners to navigate the process of getting the permit to open their outdoor dining structure on the street.
The city, under this new program, wants to change that.
In streamlining the process, Yancey says the fees business owners are paying now to rent that public space will go up in an effort to create a new revenue stream for downtown projects.
"We're going to collect that fee and put it into an enterprise fund that we will reinvest in the downtown. So this is an opportunity to fund some of the activities our businesses have been asking for like improved maintenance, landscaping improvements," Yancey said.
A second project currently underway in downtown Davis is the G Street Activation project.
G Street is closed for construction while the city makes upgrades to the street that will transform it into a pedestrian-only road with brand-new structures built on both sides to accommodate outdoor dining.
This project stemmed from the outdoor dining that first started on G Street during the pandemic when the street was closed to cars so that restaurants could serve their customers in the street.
"People fell in love with it. People wanted it to continue. The pandemic is over but people wanted to sort of continue to have that experience on G Street. The city decided to invest some of their American Recovery Act funds in building a civic space there," Yancey said.
The outdoor dining spaces will be available to be rented by the restaurants on G Street under the standards that will be adopted in the proposed Downtown Outdoor Dining Program.
"I like something different," downtown patron Brandon told CBS13. "But I don't love parking disappearing. When that happened during the pandemic, it made sense — get people outside because it's safe. But I was like, 'Ok wait. When it's over, can we park here again?' "
The project is a city push to promote more open-air spaces where neighbors and community members can come together, which leaders hope means more people will dine outdoors in downtown Davis.
"We feel like that's really essential to the culture and values of this community," said Yancey. "The goal is to ensure the vitality of the downtown and attempt to increase the number of people that feel welcomed and want to be Downtown and spend their hard-earned dollars Downtown."
The Downtown Outdoor Dining Program still needs to pass several levels of approval by the city council. The scheduled upcoming meetings and more information about what is being proposed can be found on the project's website.
