Nearly 300 Denver Businesses Approved For Expansion Program
DENVER, CO — Many downtown Denver businesses have taken the boards off their windows and reopened over the past couple of weeks, and as of Friday, 292 businesses had been approved for the city's patio expansion program.
The initiative allows restaurants and bars to temporarily increase their outdoor service capacity area, which includes expansion into adjacent streets, sidewalks and parking lots.
Earlier this month, the city announced that it was extending the expansion program through Oct. 31 after "overwhelmingly positive feedback from the public and calls from owners of restaurants and bars to extend [the] program."
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Future public health orders due to an increase in COVID-19 cases or any other changes to rules and regulations "can still result in the program being suspended or ended," city officials said.
If they aren't hindering the public right of way, businesses that are in compliance with public health guidelines will receive automatic renewals —unless their neighborhood requests a hearing, the city said. Businesses that have expanded in the public right of way will work with Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to ensure certain requirements, such as liability insurance coverage, are met through the new program end date. The department will initiate the renewal process for the businesses, the city said.
Restaurants and bars will be allowed to add recorded ambient or background music and television to their outdoor serving area if it does not disturb the neighborhood, officials said. There is a required five-day posting to allow neighborhood input for all businesses that want to extend their participation in the program or add recorded music or televised programming.
>> Wondering if your favorite spot has been approved for expansion? The list of approved businesses can be found here.
This article originally appeared on the Denver Patch
