Seattle restaurants are granted one more year of permit-free outdoor dining May 17, 2021 at 8:26 pm
Seattle City Councilmemeber Dan Strauss at a Ballard Avenue press conference on Monday, standing in front of the outdoor dining pergolas that he d like to make permanent throughout the city (Photo courtesy of Dan Strauss office)
Since June of 2020, Seattle’s Ballard Avenue has experienced a metamorphosis. The historic street, lined with trendy restaurants, bars and shops, is now one-way, narrowed into a single lane so shops and restaurants could build wooden pergolas on the street to create covered dining and shopping areas.
“These pergolas and sidewalk cafes provide a moment of consistency for businesses to be able to operate in changing health conditions,” said Councilman Dan Strauss. “What was not clear is how long would these permits last. So, today we’re here to say we want them here forever.”
Seattle s streetside cafes may become permanent after program extended king5.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from king5.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It saved us: Street cafes could become permanent fixtures for Seattle restaurants
Street cafes could become permanent fixtures in King County amid state reopening
As Washington reopens in the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle, Ballard and neighboring King County restaurants hope to keep their permanent, outdoor fixtures remaining, structures that were what once a lifeline for many local businesses.
SEATTLE - Even though Washington state is on track to fully reopen by June 30, a feature born out of the pandemic could become a permanent fixture in Seattle and beyond.
The Seattle City Council on Monday is expected to pass a bill making it easier for restaurants and merchants to keep their outdoor spaces.
An outdoor dining set-up at a restaurant in Seattle s Wallingford neighborhood. (MyNorthwest photo)
Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss introduced legislation Monday to extend the city’s café streets pilot program for another year.
The program has allowed Seattle restaurants and other retail storefronts to use the streets in front of their businesses for outdoor dining and displays, which has helped many of them be able to continue operating safely during the COVID-19 pandemic and allow for social distancing.
Strauss is chair of the city’s Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee. He previously sponsored a bill to help make home businesses legal, including Yonder Bar in Greenwood, by changing a few land use codes for one year.
Seattle City Council committee approves plan to extend street dining permits through 2022
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Street dining plaza at Eden Hill Provisions in Queen Anne.Alexa T. via YelpShow MoreShow Less
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Street and sidewalk cafes could become a more permanent fixture of dining in Seattle thanks to new legislation proposed this week by the city council.
Sponsored by Councilmember Dan Strauss and Council President Lorena Gonzalez, Council Bill 120068 would create a pathway to permanency for the city s cafe streets pilot program.
The city launched a pilot program last July offering free sidewalk and curb space permits to help small businesses stay afloat amid coronavirus restrictions which limited indoor dining. Those licenses were initially temporary, and the permit program was later extended through the winter to October 2021 to continue to aid these businesses.