PEABODY — Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt wants the City Council to adopt changes to a zoning ordinance that will permanently allow outdoor dining in Peabody.
The widespread use of outdoor dining was a direct result of restrictions placed on restaurants for indoor dining, as a result of the pandemic, according to the mayor’s chief of staff, Chris Ryder.
The recommendations for this permanent proposal are based on the two-year experimental work with restaurant owners and listening to customers on how outdoor dining has been working, Bettencourt said in an April 8 letter to City Council President Ryan Melville. He also said customers and staff enjoy the open-air setting.
“I continue to receive tremendous feedback from restaurant owners, wait staff and outdoor diners alike,” said Bettencourt. “Given the tremendous popularity of alfresco dining in Peabody, I believe we should amend the ordinance to make it permanent.”
Phil Mitchell, an owner of Champions Pub on Foster Street, and Lucio Perrina, who with brothers Angelo and Valentino, owns Toscana Ristorante on Lowell Street, said they are in favor of the mayor’s proposal.
“We definitely support a move to permanent outdoor dining,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s a great idea. Why not?”
“Not everyone was as fortunate as we were,” said Perrina. “We’ve been lucky here in our situation as it’s been a big success, so much so that we actually, without knowing the city’s plans, are in the process of upgrading our outdoor dining space with a more permanent structure, as opposed to the tent we had. I’m glad the city is addressing safety protocols. We don’t know the wild, wild west but outdoor dining has been a big success for us. Our customers really appreciate the opportunity we give to them.”
The mayor first put forward a proposal for outdoor dining to the City Council in June 2020, according to Bettencourt’s letter to the council. It was approved by a unanimous vote.
“Obviously, then it was in response to the pandemic and the fact that there was no indoor dining, or limited indoor dining,” said Ryder.
The council extended outdoor dining in November 2020 and in April 2021, according to Ryder.
“Most recently, the mayor submitted a proposal for the City Council to permanently extend outdoor dining in Peabody to make it a permanent part of the city,” said Ryder, adding that the businesses reported that they appreciated the flexibility the outdoor dining provided them.
According to Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning-Martin, easing the burden on restaurants by taking the “red tape” out of the outdoor dining application process would go a long way.
“I realized at the outset of COVID that this was the city’s chance to review, revise and revamp what is an extremely cumbersome process,” she said. “The council has been behind this for quite some time. It’s been brought up at least three or four times at council meetings. It’s a no-brainer.”
For now, there are 18 restaurants in Peabody that meet the guidelines in the mayor’s proposal. In other words, many if not all restaurants were able to have outdoor dining in a manner that was deemed safe by public safety, police, and fire, and our community development and inspectional services departments, said Ryder.
According to the proposal, the applications for outdoor dining should be submitted to the Community Development Department, and they will forward the application to the Treasurer, Public Services, Health & Human Services, Building, Fire and Police departments for review. If the applicant’s plan involves the use of public property, a copy of the application should also be provided to the appropriate ward councilor.
After the application form is complete, it will be forwarded to the mayor for approval, according to the zoning ordinance amendment attached to the mayor’s letter to the City Council.
Due to the seasonal and temporary nature of an outdoor dining area, the plumbing code and requirements for parking will not be interpreted as an increase in the number of seats serving a restaurant and will not be counted to any off-street parking requirement, says the same document.
The amended ordinance also requires restaurants to submit a plan depicting the precise area of the proposed dining area, furniture arrangement, fencing, café umbrellas, heaters, and any other equipment. Smoking is prohibited in all outdoor dining areas under the proposal.
Ryder said there were several restaurants in the city that have had patio or back dining in Peabody for many years, but they were individually permitted that way.