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BOSTON - Thursday, February 16, 2023 -
Today, Mayor Michelle Wu announced the City of Boston’s Permanent Outdoor
Dining Program, in coordination with the Office of Economic Opportunity and
Inclusion (OEOI), the Streets Cabinet, and the Disabilities Commission. The
permanent program creates a predictable, streamlined process for business
owners that will expedite application review and allow for annual renewals.
It incorporates the activation of public space enjoyed during the temporary
program, but addresses issues such as barriers to accessibility and
concerns from public safety officials. The application to participate in
the permanent program will be made available later this month with the goal
of restaurant patios opening as early as May 1. The new program will
include a monthly fee for all participants to help fund efforts to further
expand outdoor dining more equitably across the City.
“Outdoor dining expanded as a way to keep
our businesses open during the pandemic, and has turned into a popular opportunity
to enjoy our streets and each other’s company,” said Mayor Michelle
Wu. “The Permanent Outdoor Dining Program is a multi-departmental
collaboration to reimagine our public space for the benefit of residents,
business owners, and visitors. We’ve taken what we learned over the last
couple years to inform the permanent program, and we’re committed to
working with our neighborhoods to make this program a success.”
“The outdoor dining program served as a
lifeline to many small businesses in the City to ensure that they could
keep their doors open throughout the pandemic,” said Segun Idowu,
Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. “With the success of the
program, I am excited for the program to continue to operate and to keep
our neighborhoods vibrant moving forward.”
Business owners will be able to apply via
an online portal which will be open starting on February 23, 2023. Through
this portal, businesses will be able to submit their applications, track
application progress, and renew the Outdoor Dining Permit annually. The
application to apply will be available here.
“We were so excited to hear about the
return of outdoor dining. For us, as a small restaurant the pandemic forced
us to get creative, and the outdoor dining program has been a critical
component to our sustainability and recovery. We saw changes in consumer
behavior when we were forced to rethink the way we use public spaces,”
said Andy Fadous, co-owner of American Provisions & Gray’s Hall.
“With our two businesses on East Broadway & I Street in South Boston,
we were able to provide an outdoor space for the community in both the
morning and evenings, open longer hours and employ more staff.”
The permanent program requires businesses
to submit professionally engineered site plans for outdoor dining setups on
the street and sidewalk to ensure all patios meet the requirements of the
state building code. The COVID-19 temporary program allowed for hand-drawn
site plans and portable ramps under a temporary variance from the
Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (MAAB). The City has prepared
multiple sample templates, which have been informed by the Disabilities
Commission and approved by the MAAB for permanent use. The City has
designated a staff member to help restaurant owners with technical
assistance on engineering plans.
"With spring around the corner, we're
very excited for the return of the city's outdoor dining program here in
Allston,” said Alex Cornacchini, the Executive Director of Allston
Village Main Streets. “The last few years have shown that our
restaurants have benefited from the added seating capacity, residents have
benefited from the safer seating options during COVID, and the whole
neighborhood has benefited from the added vibrancy these pop up patios
produce."
In 2020, the Outdoor Dining Pilot Program
was created under temporary state legislation as a business relief response
to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to any of the temporary outdoor dining
programs, fees were collected for the City’s Sidewalk Cafe Program, which
predated the pandemic.
Going forward, all approved businesses
participating in outdoor dining will be required to pay $399 per month if
they have a liquor license and $199 per month if they do not. Fees will go
toward technical assistance for hiring architects to draft site plans, with
the goal of expanding the program to businesses that would not otherwise be
able to participate.
The City will not be permitting on-street
outdoor dining in the North End this year. Restaurants in the neighborhood
with adequate sidewalk width will be eligible to apply for outdoor dining
if their proposal complies with accessibility and licensing requirements.
Restaurants with privately owned spaces seeking to have outdoor dining
patios are encouraged to apply through the Inspectional Services
Department.
The scheduled closures of the Sumner
Tunnel and continued congestion around the North Washington Street Bridge
construction project are expected to put a greater strain on North End
traffic this summer and make it harder for residents and first responders
to navigate the area. With about 95 restaurants in just over a third of a
square mile, the North End has the densest per capita number of restaurants
in the state. This has brought unique challenges and quality of life issues
expressed by residents over the course of the temporary programs, including
increased traffic, sanitation issues, and accessibility problems for older
residents and those with limited mobility. The City will be creating a task
force to determine how these issues could be remedied in future iterations
of the permanent program. This year, the City will buy back jersey barriers
from North End restaurant owners and provide relief for costs related to
storing these items.
The City previously held two Citywide
meetings to brief business owners and residents on the permanent program
and collect feedback. City officials have heard from residents throughout
the temporary program and used neighborhood concerns to inform the permanent
program. Restaurants applying for the program are encouraged to actively
involve residents, community members, and civic groups to discuss future
plans for outdoor dining patios on any public space. Residents and
community members can share their comments regarding restaurants applying
to the program to the dedicated outdoor dining email address (outdoordining@boston.gov) before the
business’s Boston Licensing Board hearing date. Residents and community
members with feedback are also encouraged to attend the scheduled Boston
Licensing Board hearing.
The Permanent Outdoor Dining Program
builds off of Mayor Wu’s commitment to reimagine how Boston streets work
for residents and visitors and how reconfiguring public spaces can foster
community. In January, the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA)
announced findings from the Copley Connect pilot in summer of 2022.
Following the success of the pilot, transportation planners with the BPDA
and BTD intend to study permanent improvements to Dartmouth Street between
the Boston Public Library and Copley Square Park that would improve the
public realm between three of Boston's most iconic civic spaces and
formally unify Copley Square. Additionally, the Boston Transportation
Department will be announcing more Open Streets events in the coming months
following the success of last year’s events creating more than a mile of
car-free space in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester.
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