City Committee Hears Proposal to Make Permanent Several Temporary Pandemic-Prompted Changes to Restaurant Operations

The Economic Development and Technology (Edtech) Committee Tuesday heard proposed Zoning Code amendments which would permanently allow restaurants to offer dining service in parking lots and to operate walk-up windows. 

In June 2020, the City Council adopted resolution #9788 with a series of temporary measures to assist restaurants struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This resolution allowed dining in parking lots, some types of alcohol sales otherwise not allowed, walk-up windows, and temporary signage, among other things, all to facilitate operations under pandemic restraints.

Due to the success of several of these measures, Pasadena City staff is recommending that these measures be adopted in the Zoning Code.

Specifically, the staff is recommending the codification of: authorization for restaurants to set up dining spaces in parking lots without the obligation to provide replacement parking; an Administrative Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to streamline the process for restaurants wishing to sell alcohol; permission for restaurants to operate walk-up windows without the requirement of a CUP.

Resolution #9788 has allowed the use of parking lot dining without requiring replacement of the occupied parking area, without a size limit. 

David Sinclair from the city’s Economic Development Department said since 2020, the city has issued 45 permits that allowed parking lot dining. 

Sinclair said staff is recommending that the City amend the Zoning Code to continue to allow parking lot dining but the size should be limited to 50% of the existing indoor dining area and bar area.

“You can expand your dining area but not double, triple it,” Sinclair said, adding that the limit would prevent the complete occupation of a parking lot.

The proposed amendment will give owners with existing permits six months from the effective date of the amendment to get a permit or remove the parking lot dining furniture. 

Sinclair said the Administrative CUP for alcohol sales has allowed staff to process permits in days or weeks as opposed to months. 

Since resolution #9788 was adopted, the city issued 40 CUPs for alcohol sales. None of them was appealed, according to Sinclair.

Under the resolution, all permits for alcohol sales are appealable before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).

The City staff wants this measure to continue and be adopted in the Zoning Code. “The amendment would be to qualify that process, really with no change, still appealable to BZA,” said Sinclair. 

The amendment being proposed by the City staff would continue to allow walk-up windows at restaurants without a CUP provided that there is no queuing on public sidewalks.

As per Sinclair, the city has issued about 10 permits for temporary walk-up windows since the resolution was adopted in 2020. 

According to Sinclair, the city staff will hold a study session and a formal public hearing with the Planning Commission on the proposed three Zoning Code amendments on restaurants. 

The proposal will ultimately go to the City Council for discussion and decision.