Larkspur might modify fees for outdoor dining

Larkspur will consider modifying its outdoor dining fees following complaints from a downtown restaurateur.

At its meeting on Wednesday, the City Council directed staff to return with a revised fee schedule that would ease the cost to downtown businesses to offer outdoor dining in the public right of way.

The consensus appeared to be a victory for Gary Rulli, co-owner of the bakery-cafewine shop Emporio Rulli on Magnolia Avenue, who addressed the council at the meeting and called for reduced rates. Rulli said his business has offered outdoor seating for 35 years and the new fees would cost his business thousands of dollars.

The council said updated fees could be different for parklets or sidewalk dining. The updated rules might also expand outdoor dining outside the Magnolia Avenue thoroughfare.

The city plans to pursue a temporary encroachment permit with Emporio Rulli until the new rules are set.

“These are very valuable businesses to our community,” said Councilmember Catherine Way. “I think a nominal fee would be reasonable … to show that we are attentive to the needs of the public.”

The council adopted a framework for the outdoor dining policy at a meeting in June 2022, giving staff the ability to implement policy for the lease of public right of way by restaurants. The system applied to encroachment permits for any business using public space.

The fee schedule for the program allowed the Public Works Department to set the cost per square foot at the prevailing market rate. Generally, the system limited restaurants to no more than two parking spaces for parklets and set a cost of $4 per square foot for use of the parking spaces and sidewalks.

The city established a temporary outdoor program in the spring of 2021. With various extensions it lasted through the end of 2022. Like other municipalities in Marin, the parklets were developed to help struggling businesses and restaurants generate revenue during the pandemic when indoor gatherings were not allowed.

Many of the more popular outdoor dining parklets are gone, and parklets are limited to Magnolia Avenue. One downtown establishment, Restaurant Picco, leases about 150 square feet for about $600 a month.

Emporio Rulli set up an outdoor parklet during the pandemic to augment outdoor seating options on the sidewalk and in its private outdoor alcove.

The business removed its parklet, which took up three