The Los Angeles City Council moved forward on Saturday to establish a permit process to permanently allow al fresco restaurant dining on both private property and in the public right-of-way in the city's coastal zone.
In a 12-0 vote -- with councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt and Monica Rodriguez absent for the vote -- the council instructed the city's Planning Department and other relative departments to prepare a report within 60 days with recommendations to create a Coastal Development Permit plan.
In doing so, the city would give permanent status to some 154 temporary al fresco permits issued during the pandemic, as well as enable other restaurants to apply for outdoor dining.
Council members Traci Park and Tim McOsker, who represent the coastal areas, introduced the motion with the intent of providing an "invaluable lifeline" to small businesses and keeping restaurants open.
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“I rise today to give voice to more than 150 restaurants in the coastal zone who may be left behind once this body approves a permanent al fresco program, due to rules and regulations that are unique to the coastal area,'' Park said, addressing her colleagues around the horseshoe.
“While our economy has largely recovered from the worst of the pandemic, many of our small businesses continue to struggle whether due to inflation, rising rents, changes to work schedules, which have left so many of our commercial centers vacant,'' the councilwoman added.
She said that the Council's action today would give the Planning Department the tools necessary to maintain outdoor dining in the city's coastal zone, while doing nothing would create a ``risk,'' and ``puts the restaurants in a tenable position of having to secure a coastal development permit in order to keep their outdoor dining areas.''
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Park said the regulatory process can take many months -- between six to nine -- and cost upwards of $20,000 per business.
While a Coastal Development Permit is typically required for restaurants in the coastal zone to add or expand outdoor dining space, various state laws also provide a temporary pathway to obtain a permit for al fresco dining.
Those state laws include AB 61, which temporarily suspends local parking requirements for al fresco purposes through Dec. 31. The Coastal Commission also granted a number of temporary CDP waivers to allow al fresco dining during the pandemic.
However, AB 61 will expire at the end of this year, and any restaurant in the coastal zone will need to obtain a CDP to continue al fresco dining.
Without a CDP, the current 154 restaurants operating al fresco dining under temporary authorization would be in violation of the Coastal Act starting Jan. 1, 2024.
The council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee previously approved the motion, as well.
