Title
Restaurant Parking Lot Usage Pilot Program Extension for Outdoor Dining - For the purpose of directing the City Manager to extend the Annapolis Outdoor Dining Pilot Program, allowing restaurants to use privately-owned parking lots for outdoor dining, for an additional six months.
Body
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
City of Annapolis
Resolution 30-22
Introduced by: Alderman Arnett
Co-sponsored by:
A RESOLUTION concerning
Restaurant Parking Lot Usage Pilot Program Extension for Outdoor Dining
FOR the purpose of directing the City Manager to extend the Annapolis Outdoor Dining Pilot Program, allowing restaurants to use privately-owned parking lots for outdoor dining, for an additional six months.
WHEREAS, In determining that outdoor dining is a highly desirable offering by local restaurant establishments, the City Council passed R-22-22 in May 2022 to allow outdoor dining on private parking lots and to initiate a six-month study on the effectiveness of this parking lot usage and the impact on the City’s economy; and
WHEREAS, The City completed the study, "Annapolis Outdoor Dining Pilot Analysis," on September 23, 2022, which looked into the impact of outdoor dining on the pilot program restaurants and businesses in the communities near the restaurants, as well as how the loss of restaurant parking for outdoor dining impacted those areas; and
WHEREAS, The study states, "Outdoor dining provides broader economic value to the City and neighborhood as non-restaurant businesses contacted for the study voiced support for more outdoor dining. Not only does it help to stimulate other businesses, but these business owners enjoy being patrons of the restaurants as well."; and
WHEREAS, Gross sales for the five restaurants in the pilot study generally improved in the May to August 2022 period of the pilot program over the same period in 2021; and
WHEREAS, Adding extra seating during the Parking Lot Dining Pilot Program positively impacted the participating restaurants’ bottom lines from slight/stabilizing to moderate improvement. The study states, "For those restaurants in the first category, the extra outdoor seating may be essential to their long-term survival."; and
WHEREAS, The study found that, in its temporary format, parking lot dining has little impact on the City of Annapolis, either positive or negative.
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that the City Manager is directed to extend the Parking Lot Usage Pilot Program adopted under R-22-22, allowing outdoor dining in the parking lots of restaurants approved for the pilot program in accordance with the permit requirements established by the Department of Planning and Zoning.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that the effective end date of this resolution shall be six months from the date of its passage.
EXPLANATION
Underlining indicates matter added.
[Strikethrough] indicates matter stricken.