HomeMy WebLinkAboutWORK SESSION SUMMARY-05/24/2022-Work Session
City Manager’s Office
City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
Date: June 2, 2022
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager
Thru: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Tyler Marr, Interim Deputy City Manager
RE: Work Session Summary – May 24, 2022: Extended Outdoor Patios
All Councilmembers were present for the work session. Staff provided background, policy
considerations and next steps for moving forward with on-going extended patio use.
Background
Staff shared a recommendation to initially move forward with minimal code changes and more
guidance to allow for more flexibility to see how permits are utilized and identify any challenges
that emerge.
Two potential code changes needed to allow both Right-of Way (sidewalk) and in-street patio
use include:
x A proposed change to the encroachment permit language would remove references to
“directly adjoining” and clarify that the encroachment area does not need to be contiguous to
the building upon where the business is located. Encroachment permits would generally
only be issued for the public right-of-way in front of the business requesting the
encroachment. Should a business wish to extend into the public right-of-way in front of a
neighboring business, the neighboring business would be notified of the request and
allowed to comment with the comments being taken into consideration.
x Addition of “Parklet” provides greater clarity on the long-term use of on-street parking. Clarity
would include that utilized parking spaces must be directly in front of requesting business,
locations allowed based on conditions (road type, speed, etc.), protection of accessible
parking spaces and loading areas.
Staff anticipates bringing both of these code amendments in June/July 2022.
Discussion
x Acknowledgment that the patios under discussion are all in the public right-of-way and
ultimately belong to the City.
x Clear desire to have strong guidelines and ensure that any extended patio space is
meeting guidelines and contributing to the streetscape. Patios do not need to be
uniform, but they do need to meet the intended outcome of the guidelines.
x General agreement to allow existing spaces to operate through the summer (2022) and
direction to staff to be ready with permit program by fall and fully operational in early
spring 2023.
x Appreciation for flexibility and learning in this space and a willingness to consider more
shared space use, pedestrian only use, and thoughts around more programming in
public space.
x Recommend considering:
o Evening curfew in patios if warranted.
o Maintenance and liability requirements
o Utilizing alleys as well
Follow-Up
Parking:
x The City does not have a “parking formula/policy” for determining the allowable number
of parking spaces provided on any given street.
x Parking structure utilization is typically only at capacity during large downtown events.
x The value of a parking space has not been clearly evaluated. In 2015, some estimates
were provided as part of a downtown retail assessment, however, the information was
not utilized for any planning purposes due to the skepticism of the methodology (the
finding stated that an on-street parking space would result in $300K in annual retail
sales.) Parking structure spaces are permitted between $30-$60/month or $360-$720
annually and in working with the Armstrong hotel to allow valet space they were charged
$720 per space annually.
In-street patio use:
x After review of the work session, staff is unclear if there is a desire to remove in-street
patios seasonally in an on-going program or one-time in the fall 2022 while guidelines
are implemented. Clarity on this is needed.
Next Steps:
x Code changes will be brought forward in June 2022.
x Guidelines will be completed and provided in mid- to-late July 2022.
x Need clarity on any desired action on existing patios in 2022.
x Staff will continue to work with all businesses on the implementation of an on-going
extended patio permit.