The outdoor street dining program that Belfast launched during the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to thrive since the health crisis ended, providing residents and tourists alike with an attractive outdoor drinking and dining option.
But after some business owners and residents expressed dissatisfaction with the system, the city is now considering changing it.
The debate is one example of how measures adopted as public health precautions during the pandemic have reshaped Maine businesses and communities, sometimes in controversial ways.
Among the reforms the City Council is currently considering is a fee increase for downtown businesses that want to participate in the program, which allows businesses to offer outdoor seating in two adjacent parking spaces (or potentially three, if parking spaces are arranged diagonally at the location).
City council members began considering those changes at a meeting Tuesday night as they prepare rules for this winter’s outdoor dining program.
Before the discussion, they heard a variety of testimony from residents and business owners, about a half-dozen of whom expressed concerns about the program, arguing it would take away parking spaces, obstruct entrances to businesses and cost too little for participating businesses.
“In my experience, structures along the sidewalks are becoming more and more complex, outgrowing the scale of what’s downtown and becoming permanent in appearance, if not in reality,” said Vicki Tarbell, owner of Good Table Kitchen Store. “Some structures block more than one parking space, but whether they do or not, they now block so many spaces that they severely limit parking downtown and severely limit the profits of stores.”
Tarbell also took issue with charging businesses $250 to use a parking space for six months, or $500 for a full year, arguing that “other retailers don’t get a comparable subsidy” when rents downtown are much higher.
But other residents argued that outdoor dining increases pedestrian traffic downtown and benefits local businesses. Businesses that have recently taken advantage of the program include Dos Gatos Gastropub, Alexia’s Pizza, Downshift Coffee, Von’s Kitchen, Darby’s Restaurant, VinoLeo and DelVino’s. Since its inception, the program has been extended through the winter. Downshift Coffee was the only business to participate last winter.
Council members had mixed opinions about the program, but generally agreed it should continue for future years with some modifications. Councilwoman Mary Mortier suggested the program should be adjusted by increasing fees, but said overall it has been a success.
“We started this to help businesses during COVID, and it’s actually become a huge economic development tool that we hadn’t thought of when we first came up with it,” Mortier said. “It’s evolved and grown from that original concept, and most of the people who come into town or who come into town because of it love the curbside program.”
Other rules currently in place for the program include that outdoor structures are permitted between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., they must be non-permanent structures that can be dismantled at any time, and they must be set up on a flat platform.
City Council members will soon vote on new fee proposals that would see the fee increase to $750 next summer and potentially $1,000 in the summer of 2026, according to Mayor Erin Herbig. Council members also proposed increasing the winter fee to $500.
“I think $500 is a very low cost in terms of value, so I wouldn’t mind a gradual increase to $750 to $1000,” said Councillor Chris Bitely. “I have a completely different view on the winter. I still think we need to stimulate economic activity in a way that we don’t need in the summer.”