Columbus makes outdoor on-street dining program permanent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The pilot program created by the City of Columbus that allowed restaurants to create temporary outdoor on-street dining during the pandemic will become permanent beginning March 14.

“The city’s successful outdoor dining pilot supported our local restaurants as they fought through adversity the past two years,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “Making this program permanent celebrates the industry’s resiliency and supports our local economy as our community gets back on track and patrons want to comfortably dine out.”

The city says the program will operate as it has since summer 2020. Restaurants can apply for city permit approval to use the right of way to expand seating into on-street dining areas with the city providing barriers to maintain a distance between traffic and patrons.

The program will also allow restaurants to seek approval to expand seating into their private parking lots.

“The Columbus restaurant community is looking forward to restarting on-street dining and expanded patios. The expanded space for restaurant guests adds vibrancy throughout our neighborhoods, keeps workers employed and helps generate additional sales for operators as they continue to rebound from the pandemic,” said John Barker, President and CEO, the Ohio Restaurant Association. “The ORA was happy to partner with city leadership to learn from a pilot program last year and now make it a permanent part of our city’s restaurant scene.”

In 2020, seven restaurants had permits approved for on-street dining and 18 were approved for expanded seating in their parking lots. The number of restaurants increased to 12 for on-street and 26 for parking lot seating in 2021.

Restaurants must provide a site plan showing the proposed layout of the outdoor area for review by the city. All federal, state and local laws must be adhered to.

Conditions for the right-of-way and sidewalk program include:

• The on-street dining program is applicable to restaurants on city streets with posted speeds of 30 mph or less.
• Dining areas cannot block vehicle or pedestrian traffic, or impede ADA access.
• All entities are required to return the public property to its original condition upon conclusion of use.

Conditions for expansion on private property or into parking lots include:

• No more than 25% of required parking spaces may be used.
• Accessible parking spaces are not to be obstructed, or approved alternative spaces of the same dimensions must be provided elsewhere on the parcel.
• Tents are allowed with 75% of tent sides remaining open when in use.
• Expanded dining area does not increase the current establishment maximum capacity.

Applications for expansion into right of way or sidewalks can be submitted online at https://portal.columbus.gov/permits/. Applications to expand patios into parking lots or on private property can submit a summary email to [email protected] for an initial review.

Local News: Recent Coverage ⬇️