Canby Herald Online

The great outdoors

Canby one step closer to allowing sidewalk cafes

• By: John Baker  
• Published: 8/12/2009 2:39:31 PM

The Canby City Council gave its blessing to the sidewalk café concept for downtown Canby Wednesday night.

The council passed the first reading of ordinance 1316 that established a policy for permits and uses of sidewalk cafes. The new ordinance repeals section 12.12.035 of the Canby municipal code and amends section 9.24.060, making the cafés possible. Within the new ordinance is a new $25 annual permit fee and a $25 right-of-way fee. The $50 total is due annually upon the anniversary date of the permit being issued.

Staff was directed by City Council to examine other city’s outdoor café setups several weeks ago. The staff report indicated that “sidewalk cafes encourage a pedestrian-oriented environment and helped create a visually attractive atmosphere and streetscape and promote overall commerce.”

City Attorney John Kelly, Planning Directory Bryan Barnes and Economic Development Manager Catherine Comer reviewed examples of ordinances from other communities and developed ordinance 1316 to meet Canby’s needs.
The ordinance is slated for a second reading at the Aug. 19 council meeting.

“After that time, businesses can apply for permits. The city of Canby has been approached by local restaurants with liquor licenses asking the city to allow the service of alcohol at tables on sidewalks in front of their food service businesses to encourage more business activity,” Comer said. “The Canby City Council established a procedure to license and regulate sidewalk cafés that desire to serve alcohol at sidewalk tables. The decision was made following a work session the council held on July 15 in which they viewed pictures of areas in the Portland metropolitan area and communities throughout the state who currently allow this."

The ordinance lays out permit requirements, definitions, permit fees, permit application, notice requirements, location rules and review criteria, liability and insurance, forms and conditions of permit, denial, revocation or suspension of permit, consumption of alcoholic beverages and penalties.

“There are strict regulations that will need to be followed by the business owners including providing insurance coverage, Oregon Liquor Control Commission permits, restrictions on times of operation and site plans that demonstrate that the sidewalk café area fits within the allowed space,” said Comer. “Sidewalk cafes can generate additional business and a sense of activity throughout the community.”

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