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The town of Danville is getting closer to formalizing permanent regulations for outdoor dining in public parking spots and private property.
The Danville Planning Commission is set Tuesday to discuss proposed rules to apply to both categories on an ongoing basis – rather than the temporary regulations that have been in place and granted multiple short-term extensions since the COVID-19 pandemic, but are set to expire on Jan. 2.
“Modifications to the Town’s existing Downtown Business District Ordinance are necessary to allow parklets to remain on a permanent basis and to modify the Town’s approach to the regulating of on-site expanded outdoor seating,” associate planner Riley Anderson-Barrett wrote in a staff report.
Danville proposes to extend its existing program for on-street seating parklets indefinitely.
Rules include design and development standards, a plan review process, lease agreement for use of public rights-of-way and avoiding inactive parklets. There would be a maximum of 12 public parking spots in downtown that could be used for new parklet space in the future, after which a wait list would be created – and certain streets are prohibited, including Hartz Avenue.
Restaurants operating outdoor seating areas at their property would need to go through the town’s Design Review Board if they plan to build a new structure or alter the building’s facade. The town would also set standards for when a parklet on private property would result in payment of an in-lieu parking fee to the town.
Then there’s the issue of alcohol in parklets – those in public rights-of-way would require an exemption from the town ordinance that would otherwise prohibit drinking on the public street or sidewalk.
The regular commission meeting is set to begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 8) in the Town Meeting Hall at 201 Front St. Read the full agenda here.
In other business, the commission will consider renewing the permits for an existing unmanned wireless telecommunication tower and standby generator at 246 El Pinto, a property located within the town’s major ridgeline area.
“The project consists of minor modifications to the existing equipment configuration, including the removal of one antenna and one existing radio; replacement of four existing pipe-mounted antennas and radio with upgraded technology; and retention of the existing surge suppressor, three antennas, and a standby generator (within the existing base station),” assistant town planner Jessica Lam wrote in her staff report.
The matter is listed on the commission’s consent calendar, which is a collection of items deemed routine and voted upon all at once without discussion unless an item is pulled for separate consideration.
Tuesday’s consent calendar also includes confirming the 2027 meeting calendar for the Planning Commission as well as approving the minutes from its June 9 meeting.
An appeal hearing over a retaining wall project at 562A El Pintado – for which a variance was approved at the staff level to allow a height of 9 feet and 2 inches, above the town’s 6-foot limit – was postponed until the Sept. 22 commission meeting.
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