Taking advantage Friday of the outdoor seating at The River Coffeehouse Downtown are from left Bria Hartmann and Pam and Scott Peters. The Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approved updating the outdoor furnishing rules Friday to extend the season and eliminate hours of operation. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — The outdoor seating season for downtown Warsaw businesses was extended Friday, Sept. 20, when the Board of Public Works and Safety approved an update to the outdoor furnishing rules.

City Planner Justin Taylor said the request to extend the season came from a request from downtown business owners.

“In 2017, the Board of Works approved rules regulating outdoor seating. As we implemented that, it was really great to have that in place, especially during times like Covid where outdoor seating was a good option for restaurants as people tried to keep their distance from each other,” he said.

“As things ramp up downtown, we see a lively downtown. More businesses coming in. A lot of the businesses are taking advantage of this outdoor seating.”

Taylor said they’ve been able to see how things have been operating with the regulations they had in place. While some things have worked out great, other regulations needed to be eased for the business owners who wanted to take advantage of the outdoor seating.
The updated rules he submitted to the board Friday on outdoor seating for their consideration includes expanding the season when outdoor seating is permitted. The season will now be March 1 to Jan. 1, instead of April 1 to Nov. 1.

“So, if somebody wants to have a holiday event downtown, they can have outdoor seating and it won’t be a violation of our current rules,” Taylor said. “The reason to have a season, and maybe at some point we’ll propose something that completely expands it year-round, but the reason to have a season is because of snow removal. The Parks Department has a machine that comes through and it needs a little more width on the sidewalks to clean off the snow. So that’s the reason why we would want to maybe consider leaving some restrictions in place where they do pull in stuff each year.”

Another rule change is the removal of hours of operation. Taylor said it’s something really the city can’t enforce practically.

“If somebody’s sitting in even the city’s alleyway at 2 in the morning, that’s not a violation of our rules, and how do you close off a seating area throughout the evening? So, it’s just one of those things that it didn’t really make sense to have specific hours of operation for an outdoor seating area,” Taylor stated.

The last rules modification he pointed out was the language used in the rules as far as what it’s called. Instead of outdoor dining, the rules now govern outdoor furnishings in the public right-of-way.

“The driving force behind having these rules in place is for ADA, making sure sidewalks are clear and safe for pedestrians to maneuver downtown,” Taylor said.

Mayor Jeff Grose said Taylor came to him weeks ago with the revisions.

Downtown business owner Travis McConnell said he was there to show his support for the rules changes and to thank the board for changing them if they approved to do so.
“It’s been a long process and it’s great to see it come together,” he said.

City attorney Scott Reust pointed out that just because the season has been extended, it doesn’t mean that everyone will have outdoor furnishings that entire time.

“It just gives them the opportunity to have it out there if they see the need and the use for that. Otherwise, I think there’s somewhat of a handshake agreement that when the season is done, that they’re going to clear the space on the sidewalks for our snow removal,” he said.

Councilwoman Diane Quance asked if the season extension included the alleyways. The city has one outdoor seating in the alleyway by City Hall, and the city had hoped to have more, she said, but she wanted to know if the rules modifications included them.

“So these modifications are mostly for the private businesses to enable them to have their furnishings on the sidewalk longer if the season allows. Thank you, Scott, for pointing that out. I don’t anticipate us using this for the public alleyway. I think we’re going to stick to our season there just because there’s so much that goes into removing those planters and the overhead banners, that we don’t want to be out there when it’s snowing. We’ll continue to close that down at the end of October,” Taylor responded.

Quance said some of the downtown merchants have contacted her and while she doesn’t think anyone is opposed to the new rules, they just ask that everyone be good neighbors to each other. They want people to be able to get from one business to another.

“I think it actually brings more business into the downtown, so I think it’s a win-win for everybody … but I think the request is just that good neighbors extends not just to our neighborhoods, but good neighbors of our business owners,” she said.

Crystal Watters, Rex’s Rendezvous, said she would gladly act as an ambassador for the board to talk to everybody who has patio furniture out, or is interested in having furniture out, to not only make sure they’re cooperating with their neighbors but that they’re also up to date on current ADA standards for right-of-way through sidewalks and public spaces.

She already has ADA standards posted within Rex’s and said she’d be happy to distribute those to businesses around downtown.

Quance said that would be great. When businesses take care of themselves, the city doesn’t have to get involved, she said.

Board member George Clemens said they’re positive changes, and if they don’t work out, the board can revisit the rules. He made a motion to approve the rules updates, Quance seconded the motion and it passed 3-0.