By Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM — Because restaurants in Washington state are currently prohibited from allowing indoor seating, many have taken to creating outdoor dining sections when take-out service simply isn’t enough to stay afloat.
The Cities of Sequim and Port Townsend have even gone as far as to allow some restaurants to set up tents or home-made structures in the parking spaces in the streets in front of their buildings.
Sequim’s Director of Community Development Barry Berezowsky credits the City Council’s efforts to support struggling business owners.
“The council’s very pro-business and they recognized the difficulty that the restauranteurs, along with other businesses, are experiencing due to Covid, and want obviously to do whatever they can from a policy perspective to flex the regulatory framework a bit to allow people to do things today that perhaps we wouldn’t be allowed to let them do at some other point in time.”
Berezowsky says 6 restaurants have so far been permitted to expand outdoors with approved structures, and 2 of those have taken advantage of the new allowance to build into the street right-of-way.
On the other hand, Port Angeles is a very different city with a different set of circumstances.
“It’s not apples and apples. It’s apples and pineapples, or apples and, you know, a vegetable.”
That’s Director of Community Development Allyson Brekke, who says Port Angeles has taken a different approach to helping businesses. For instance, setting up a tent in the street like they do in Sequim is, in most cases, not an option because so many of our businesses are literally along a state highway.
On the other hand, as long as a structure is set up on a restaurant or retailer’s existing property, and it’s there for under 180 days, no permit is needed. Brekke and City Manager Nathan West are focusing on keeping regulations flexible to adapt to a variety of circumstances.
“What Nathan and I have wanted to stress that this flexibility, how can we make this easy? Technically, I don’t really need to talk to somebody about a tent that’s installed as long as it’s less than a hundred and eighty days. Do I care about it blowing off in a windstorm and potentially hurting someone? Of course, but in terms of the City’s responsibility, it wouldn’t be ours because the permitting process isn’t even triggered.”
For businesses, getting through the holidays is one thing. But staying open all winter until the weather improves and customers are more in the mood to venture out can be a lot to face down.
A stimulus package from the federal government will help, but Brekke knows this could be a long haul for some, and wants to help.
“You know, I think we’re now realizing that this is just going to keep going, right? Even as we hear a vaccine is coming. Which is a little scary to think about. But I want to make sure restaurants and even retailers realize that they can work with the city of Port Angeles in figuring out ways to provide their services in the outdoor space. I always encourage people to contact me directly, honestly, and we can get it worked out, and hopefully without a permit.”