Town Council OKs sidewalk dining changes

WALLINGFORD —

Move over Paris, this town might be giving you a run for your money when it comes to sidewalk dining.

In a unanimous decision, the Town Council expanded by two months the amount of the year certain local eateries can offer their fare at sidewalk tables.

The council approved the amendment to the rules governing sidewalk dining to give a boost to the community’s restaurants, which have been hurt financially by COVID-19 restrictions.

The council’s unanimous voted extend when restaurants can begin offering outdoor dining and when they have to end it. The sidewalk dining ordinance only covers restaurants at

the center of town, along Main and Center streets, according to Councilman Chris Shortell, co-chairman of the governing body’s Ordinance Committee.

Restaurants in that part of town can now begin offering sidewalk dining starting March 1 and do not have to stop it until Nov. 30, Shortell said.

“We wanted to do something to make things a little easier on our restaurants,” he said prior to the vote. “This adds two months to the season, one on each side. Our feeling was, let’s try this as a baby step.”

Shortell has said he wants to have broader look at the town’s existing ordinances.

“This is part of a larger discussion we’re going to have with the Planning and Zoning Commission,” he said at a recent meeting of the ordinance committee.

“I want to look at all our zoning regulations and ordinances to start some brainstorming. Let’s look at what we’ve learned from COVID and see if we can change some long standing ordinances,” Shortell said.

Shortell said a joint meeting between the PZC and council member is being scheduled for sometime in October.

Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media Patrons dine outside Michael’s Trattoria in Wallingford in May. The Town Council voted Tuesday night to extend the period of time that restaurants on Main and Center streets can offer sidewalk dining.