City Council Extends Outdoor Dining And Retail Program

Press release from the City of Hermosa Beach:

June 25, 2021

The Hermosa Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to extend until the end of the year the City’s temporary expanded outdoor dining and retail program and the lane reconfiguration project, which were launched over the past 15 months to help local businesses struggling financially because of public health restrictions on indoor operations.

Most of L.A. County’s COVID-19 restrictions ended June 15, and dining and retail businesses are now able to resume 100% of indoor operations. But a City survey found strong public support for continuing both programs:

• 71% of 1,124 respondents said they supported continuing with expanded outdoor dining and retail permanently on dining decks and in parking spaces and lots, 16% supported keeping it until the end of summer or end of year and 11% opposed continuing it.
• Nearly 62% of respondents supported keeping the lane reconfiguration project permanently, 12% wanted it to continue until the end of summer or end of year and 21% wanted it ended.

On Tuesday, Council directed City Staff to implement the extensions of these temporary programs until the end of the year and make refinements as needed to reduce impacts on traffic and other businesses. The Council also appropriated $3,000 for a traffic study in the Downtown area.

“COVID-19 challenged our local businesses and extending our lane reconfiguration and expanded outdoor dining and retail will help them recover as we refine our efforts and consider whether to carry them forward long-term,” said Hermosa Beach Mayor Justin Massey.

The City has issued more than 60 permits for temporary expansions of outdoor dining and retail and waived encroachment fees and parking requirements for them. The mayor noted that the City cannot waive fees indefinitely because many of the decks are located on public space, and the City is losing parking and other revenues from the use of public space. The Council asked City Staff to return to Council later this year with recommendations for encroachment fees, if the Council decides to continue the expanded outdoor dining and retail program past the end of the year.

This press release was produced by the City of Hermosa Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.