TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager, or designee, to extend the previously approved Open Streets Initiative plan allowing restaurants and other related service industry temporary parklets and outdoor dining spaces to remain open through June 30, 2022. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On May 18, 2021, the City Council directed the City Manager to develop a plan to allow restaurant and other related service industry temporary parklets and outdoor dining spaces to remain open beyond the June 30, 2021 program expiration date. This plan included community outreach to residents, Business Improvement Districts, and other stakeholders and included direction for staff to work with eligible businesses interested in converting their temporary parklets to permanent parklet structures. The requested plan was implemented and the temporary parklet and outdoor space use was extended to October 1, 2021.
The economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect small businesses and their employees. The outdoor dining experience spurred by Long Beach's Open Streets Initiative has proven to be helpful to businesses as part of their economic recovery as well as proving popular with residents. While indoor dining has returned, many businesses continue to express interest in retaining their outdoor space to grow economically, hire more employees, and maintain flexibility during the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the added outdoor space offers customers opportunities for safe dining alternatives while the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread. For these reasons, it is recommended that the temporary parklets and outdoor dining spaces program be extended through June 30, 2022. The continuation of the program in the coastal zone will be conditioned on approval from the California Coastal Commission as applicable.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Erin Weesner-McKinley and by Budget Management Officer Rhutu Amin Gharib...
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