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Item # 32
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
May 3, 2022
TOPIC: Outdoor Dining
AGENDA TITLE:
Request for Direction Related to Outdoor Dining
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Accept informational report and direct staff to prepare an ordinance allowing and
regulating outdoor dining citywide.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
To assist Santa Ana businesses with maintaining economic viability and public health
safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 28, 2020, the City of Santa Ana
approved Executive Order No. 5-2020, authorizing restaurants and retail businesses to
expand dining and retail operations onto public sidewalks and public and private parking
spaces. This included the installation of food islands/parklets on City streets within
Downtown Santa Ana. The City also identified certain roadways for full road closures to
establish Cafe & Retail Zones on a temporary basis and further made available for
expanded dining and retail activity. To that end, Santa Ana Municipal Code ("SAMC")
requirements for these type of activities were provisionally suspended. To assist Santa
Ana merchants, the City also developed the City of Santa Ana: A Guide for Outdoor
Business Operations "Take it Outside" to guide businesses through the process in how
to obtain a permit for outdoor dining.
Since the adoption of Executive Order No. 5-2020, the City facilitated over 29 permits,
including nine parklets, for expanded outdoor dining areas. With the desire to create an
attractive, high quality, and efficient combined dining experience, the City worked in
tandem with contractors Choura and VX Design to design, construct, and install nine
parklets in Downtown. The effort included the design and construction of wood -finished
decks, shade sails, solar -powered bistro lights, outdoor furniture, and hand sanitizing
stations.
To further compliment this effort, with a $500,000 grant from the County of Orange's First
Supervisorial District, the City of Santa Ana created the Safe Outdoor Dining Program.
Utilizing the same approved contractors, over 20 restaurants along 1st and 17th Streets
and outside of the downtown district were eligible to receive outdoor dining patios. As with
Outdoor Dining
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the custom parklets, the City built the outdoor dining patios to meet the highest City
expectations and standards. These outdoor dining patios were completed with wood -
finished decks, umbrellas, bistro lights, outdoor furniture, and commercial planters.
To date, businesses continue to utilize the City's provisions allowing the parklets and
outdoor dining patios. More importantly, the City sustained its commitment to the
merchant community to deliver a high quality outdoor dining program that promotes
economic development to businesses and reassure safety for residents and visitors
during the pandemic. Undertaking the effort to rethink outdoor dining on and on -street
dining opportunities with an emphasis on design and placemaking would activate our local
downtown streets and would create an enhanced dining atmosphere citywide.
DISCUSSION
As COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted and local businesses have begun returning to
normal operations, the City has an opportunity to consider making outdoor dining
permanent and develop standards for an outdoor dining that is beneficial for all
businesses. Accordingly, staff recommends that City Council direct staff to review and
prepare for consideration an ordinance amending the SAMC to establish expanded
outdoor dining standards.
The direction to modify the SAMC will allow staff the opportunity to work in coordination
with other agencies involved in the reviewing and approving of outdoor dining spaces to
analyze how the current program worked during the pandemic. Based on lessons learned
and feedback from community members, business owners, and industry stakeholders,
staff can develop a program that continues to promote economic viability of the food and
beverage industry, which verifying its appropriateness of its use of private and public
property areas. The public outreach would ensure evaluation of potential impacts and
support by businesses citywide.
Transitioning to a permit program would simplify the application process for those
businesses that are eligible and interested in participating. In addition, it would create a
path for those outdoor dining areas installed using grant funds during the pandemic, the
ability to remain in place.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Submitted By: Minh Thai, Executive Director of Planning and Building Agency
Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager
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• Consider permanent outdoor dining
• Develop standards for outdoor dining
• Direct staff to process a code amendment
Outdoor Dining
Planning & Building Agency
May 3, 2022
Slide 11
Outdoor Dining
Planning & Building Agency
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