Chula Vista may consider a citywide outdoor dining ordinance, but first it is ordering the removal of several parklets from its buzzing downtown avenue.
On Tuesday, city leaders agreed to formalize a subcommittee that would draft ideas for a policy at their next meeting. Such a law would then require approval from the City Council.
Mayor John McCann, who spearheaded the idea, said a citywide ordinance would offer uniformity and an opportunity for all interested establishments across Chula Vista to pursue outdoor dining.
Besides Third Avenue, he envisions seeing sidewalk or sidewalk-adjacent setups by the forthcoming bayfront hotel and convention center, Broadway and east Chula Vista. McCann said the city could take ideas from other cities with outdoor dining policies.
The effort would come as multiple businesses along Third Avenue prepare to take down their outdoor patios by the first week of September.
Restaurants, breweries and cafes have had their set-ups since the pandemic. In 2021, the city mandated establishments take them down or replace them with permitted, public-right-of-way and ADA-compliant ones.
To help businesses with the changes, the city used $300,000 in federal stimulus dollars to develop a grant program that would reimburse businesses for the costs of deg, permitting and constructing their setups along the avenue.
But city officials said the initiative was temporary and it was time to look for fresh opportunities, given reports about unequal access to other non-dining businesses and limited parking spaces.
“My goal is to create a win-win situation for the restaurants and businesses but we need to make sure that we look at all the challenges and opportunities that outdoor dining has,” said McCann. “We need to formalize that because the way that it happened prior was for an emergency situation (during the pandemic).”
Gonzalo Quintero, co-owner of Vogue Tavern on Third Avenue and president of the Downtown Chula Vista Association, believes the mayor’s interest in expanding outdoor dining is a great opportunity for the local economy and patrons. But he finds it unnecessary to remove his outdoor deck while the city moves toward the development of an ordinance.
“I understand that a policy needs to be made so that surrounding businesses can be afforded the same opportunities, but at the same time, what is the rush to tear down these decks,” he said.
Quintero said he spent about $19,000 to set up a permitted and ADA-compliant dining deck, for which the city reimbursed him up to $15,000.
The outdoor setups have become more than places to sit down and eat, he said. They have become safe spaces for people with dogs, disabilities or other needs, and places for the community to congregate, he said.
He recently launched an online petition to keep the patios in place. As of Tuesday, more than 500 signatures had been collected.
