TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to develop a plan to allow restaurant and other related service industry parklets and outdoor dining spaces to remain open beyond June 30, 2021 program expiration date. Such plan should include community outreach to residents, Business Improvement Districts and other stakeholders and create options for both extensions and permanent parklet structures.
DISCUSSION
The economic impacts from the COVID-19 Pandemic have been devasting for our small businesses and their employees. As the nation slowly starts to recover, that recovery will take many years to recoup the losses to income and wages. A rare bright spot during the pandemic was the flourishing growth of outdoor dining spurred by Long Beach’s Open Streets initiative. The Open Streets initiative included temporary emergency parklets, additional use of private property for outdoor activities, and closure of commercial corridors to create additional outdoor opportunities.
As one of the first large cities to implement city wide parklets for dining during the pandemic, Open Streets allowed many restaurants to keep their doors open to customers when county and statewide rules only permitted outdoor service. It was a much needed economic lifeline that likely saved businesses and jobs. As indoor dining has returned, many businesses have expressed interest in retaining their outdoor space to grow economically, hire more employees and maintain flexibility during uncertain times. Similarly, many residents have expressed interest in continuing the safer outdoor dining experience for the foreseeable future.
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation requests the City Manager to develop a plan to allow restaurant and other related service industry parklets and outdoor dining spaces to remain open beyond June 30, 2021 program expiration date. The requested action is anticipated to have a minimal impact on staff hours beyond the budgeted scope of duties and is expected to have a minima...
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