Outdoor dining standards finally receive approval

By Grace Lovins

After roughly three years, Birmingham city commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a new outdoor dining ordinance at their meeting on Monday, May 22, creating a new set of standards from the previous ordinance that was initially adopted in 2007.

The city began working on the ordinance draft in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the planning board holding three public hearings throughout 2022. Board members voted on December 14, 2022, to recommend approval and send the draft to the city commission.

At their public hearing in February, commissioners directed staff to scratch a sunset provision requiring nonconforming facilities to come into compliance by a fixed date. Instead, staff was tasked with adding language to phase out nonconforming facilities without the provision. Staff was also directed to add language ensuring facilities are set up to be used and add utilities to the list of items considered during reviews.

Other major changes written into the draft since the commission’s last review, according to planning director Nick Dupuis, included adding clarity and consistency to the language, incorporating several new design standards and adding a clause for the protection of public property.

The clause states that the city commission has the discretion to order removal of facilities and equipment, or objects associated with the facilities if deemed necessary for public interest, health, safety or welfare. Dupuis said the clause will be included in the city’s code of ordinances, outdoor dining license agreements and in special land use permits.

With the new ordinance, rules concerning outdoor platform height, windbreaks, materials, service stations and location in the furnishing zone were put into place. Platforms will need to be flush with the curb and are not allowed to be in the furnishing zone except for special circumstances.

Bringing up the ordinance’s new requirements that renovations would mean a nonconforming facility would have to be brought into compliance, commissioner Andrew Haig said the ordinance needs to be very specific about what is considered routine maintenance versus renovation. Haig suggested taking photographs of facilities for a baseline so if a business changes parts of the facility without approval, staff has objective proof.

Commissioner Pierre Boutros, who served as mayor during the start of the pandemic when temporary outdoor dining rules took effect, says he feels everyone will be happy with the new ordinance.

“Outdoor dining is very crucial to our downtown. It creates vibrancy. It creates interaction. It creates life. I think by us coming up with such a fair ordinance that satisfies the residents’ requests but also, most importantly, we want to keep our investors and business owners happy as we want them to survive and succeed. I really believe this is almost perfect,” Boutros said.

The commission voted 7-0 to adopt the new outdoor dining ordinance.