Supes’ vote set for permanent parklets
San Francisco officials voted Monday to advance legislation making parklets, the infrastructure behind pandemic outdoor dining, a permanent part of the city’s streetscape.
The Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee voted in favor of the program following a twoweek delay that led to modifications to the program.
The threemember committee adopted amendments proposed by Supervisor Aaron Peskin, including delaying permit fees and requiring accessibility for disabled people.
Supervisors Peskin and Dean Preston voted in favor of the amendments. Supervisor Myrna Melgar opposed some, such as shifting permit oversight from the Planning Department to the Department of Public Works and requiring spaces be accessible to the public when not being used by businesses’ customers, including at night. Mayor London Breed’s office also said she was opposed to those two changes.
Peskin said at the hearing that having the Planning Department as the coordinating agency “creates redundancies and delays” and that the department was already struggling to handle other permit processing work.
More than 2,200 businesses have received approval to set up parklets in the past year, and a permanent expansion of outdoor dining could be one of the pandemic’s lasting legacies.
The program requires a full vote by the Board of Supervisors, scheduled for June 22, and could be subject to further changes. Another hearing on the program with public comment is being held on June 18 because of the amendments that were adopted.
Dozens of speakers were overwhelmingly in favor of the parklets program, with business owners urging the supervisors to act quickly and give them clarity.
A representative from Waterbar and Epic Steak, two restaurants on the Embarcadero, said that the businesses lost over $1 million last year, but that outdoor dining in parklets is helping them recover.
“They want to eat outside. They want to enjoy the vitality of San Francisco,” he said.
Breed, who sponsored the legislation, had threatened to propose a ballot measure if supervisors didn’t move to pass the bill. The mayor’s office supports the “vast majority” of amendments but opposes any that detracted from the program, said Jeff Cretan, Breed’s spokesman.
“The mayor has been clear that we need a permanent Shared Spaces program that works for our businesses and our city. We’ve been focused on getting this passed in a timely manner to provide certainty for our small businesses, who have really struggled during this pandemic,” he said.
Supervisor Peskin denied that he was trying to obstruct the program.
“I’m coming from a position of collaboration,” he said at Monday’s hearing, describing the mayor’s approach as “my way or the highway.”
“There was much to be desired in Mayor Breed’s first draft of this permanent legislation. Our collective job as policy makers is to take feedback from the public and particularly from underrepresented communities and craft policy that will address stakeholder concerns and make our streets more livable,” Peskin said in a statement after the vote.
Proposed permit fees for parklets of up to $6,000 per business were set to begin in March 2022, but the supervisors delayed that until at least March 2023.
Preston wants chain stores, which the city defines as those with 11 or more locations globally, to be excluded from any fee waivers, arguing that major companies don’t need financial assistance from the city. He later said that the city attorney must review any potential amendment.
Speakers raised concerns over the amendments, such as requiring 8 feet of access on sidewalks that are more than 12 feet wide.
Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and owner of two restaurants, said that large of a gap would block some restaurants from having outdoor setting. She called on supervisors to base the new legislation on regulations for outside tables and chairs, which existed before the pandemic.
Brian Cassanego, owner of Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley, said he supported some public access to parklets when customers weren’t using them but said they should be closed at night to prevent drug use and other activities.
Sharky Laguana, president of the San Francisco Small Business Commission, said Type 48 liquor licenses for bars and nightclubs forbid any minors from being in areas where alcohol is served, which could complicate efforts to open public spaces to everyone.