Fairfield TPZ questions proposed outdoor dining regulations
FAIRFIELD — The Town Plan and Zoning Commission needs more information before it expands outdoor dining regulations in town.
Town officials are considering an application from the Economic Development Commission to ease regulations and make it easier to allow outdoor dining.
“We’ve have a long history in Fairfield of supporting outdoor dining,”said Mark Barnhart, the town’s director of community and economic development, who presented the application. “We’ve had provisions in our regulations allowing for that for some time. But, with the pandemic, and given temporary (state changes), we had a number of businesses that took advantage of that flexibility.”
The state had relaxed outdoor dining regulations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those changes are set to expire next year. For that reason, the Fairfield Economic Development Commission proposed allowing restaurants to have up to 575 square feet of outdoor dining space without requiring more off-street parking, as the current limit is set at 150 square feet.
The amendment would also no longer require 75 percent of the seating be inside.
Forty-seven restaurants applied for expanded outdoor dining during the pandemic, including 29 that did not have it before, Barnhart said. He added the result has been overwhelmingly positive — both for the community and business owners.
Commissioners still had questions though, including how much ability they would have to oversee the restaurants’ applications and parking.
Barnhart said the TPZ would still oversee applications for outdoor dining if the regulation changes were approved. He also said parking wouldn’t be more than usual.
“Restaurants and all business owners themselves have a vested interest in providing adequate parking for their patrons,” Barnhart said. “If they don’t, they are going to choose to go somewhere else with their business. We have always had people who complain that they can’t find parking downtown. I don’t think that that’s increased over the last three years.”
Joel Green, an attorney who spoke during public comment, said he had concerns about the regulation changes and parking. He questioned how restaurants and food service establishments are defined in the regulations, how this would affect other town zoning regulations, how many eateries exist in town and might take advantage of this and if the regulations would allow restaurants that have no indoor dining space of any kind.
Commissioner Alexis Harrison said Green raised good points, and said the vote could wait another few weeks as the commission looks for answers and suggested leaving the hearing open.
But Commission Chair Thomas Noonan said town staff, such as Barnhart, could answer those questions before the vote.
Barnhart said there is a lot of public support for the regulation changes. An online petition his office created received 1,500 signatures.
He said the goal is to preserve what residents like most about outdoor dining, noting his department spoke with the police, fire and health departments to check and ensure officials had no issues with. He also said his office spoke with the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and local businesses about the idea.
The EDC originally submitted its changes earlier this year, but the TPZ denied the proposal, saying it would revisit it before the state rules expired. Some TPZ members wanted to use the extra time, including another season of outdoor dining, to get more information before changing any of Fairfield’s regulations.
Barnhart said in October that he felt the ECD had answered their questions, and was confident the changes would be approved.
The public hearing is now closed and the commission is expected to vote on the proposal next month.