Portsmouth outdoor dining in 2024: Sidewalks? Yes. Busy streets? No.

PORTSMOUTH — Outdoor dining would be allowed on city sidewalks, in parking spaces and in loading zones this year under a proposed ordinance being considered by the City Council.

But if the ordinance is approved, outdoor dining will be prohibited on city streets except when there “is less than 1,000 vehicles per day,” City Manager Karen Conard wrote in a memo to the City Council.

Restaurants seeking to use city property to offer outdoor dining will need to have their plan approved for safety by “city staff, including the fire department,” Conard wrote.

If a restaurant wants to use city space that’s located in front of an abutter, that neighbor must grant permission to the owner, Conard added.

The City Council began approving its outdoor dining policies during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to support local restaurants while allowing people to dine safely.

The council voted unanimously this week to pass the second of three readings to create the new ordinance governing Portsmouth’s popular outdoor dining program.

Final vote on outdoor dining changes in Portsmouth coming soon

The City Council scheduled the third and final reading on the ordinance for its Feb. 20 meeting.

If the council passes the third reading of the proposed permanent ordinance, it will supersede the outdoor dining policies that the council previously passed and implemented.

The council previously referred the proposed ordinance to the city’s Economic Development Commission for its review.

Senior assistant city attorney Jane Ferrini explained the new ordinance calls for outdoor dining to run May 1 through the day after Indigenous Peoples' Day, which is the second Monday of October.

She noted the EDC recommended making the change to the previous policy so the ordinance forbids outdoor dining in travel lanes in an effort to improve safety and traffic flow.

Restaurants interested in participating in outdoor dining will have to apply through an online permitting process, Ferrini said.

Restaurants would be asked for more details if rule changes pass

Ferrini said the city will be seeking “more details in the plans that we’re asking folks to submit.”

Restaurants will be required to show where the exits will be located, along with the tables, she said.

“We realize it’s going to take some staff support to create these plans,” she said.

The city’s Fee Committee will make recommendations on how much it should cost restaurant owners to use the city’s outdoor spaces for the season, Ferrini said.

That committee is scheduled to meet on Feb. 15, she said.

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At the end of last year’s season, “a few” restaurants who participated in outdoor dining did not remove all their materials from the city space they used, Ferrini said.

The proposed ordinance requires materials to be removed after 24 hours, and if they’re not, the city can eventually dispose of them, she said.

“For the most part it’s stuff people don’t want” she said.

Design standards expected to change for Portsmouth outdoor dining

In addition to the new ordinance, the EDC recommended the creation of “design standards” as a related policy for the council to adopt, Ferrini said.

“The EDC was very insistent … that these design standards not be part of an ordinance,” she said.

Peter Britz, the city’s director of planning and sustainability, said the design standards are aimed at being “the best practices for outdoor dining.”

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The objective of the standards, Britz told the council during this week’s meeting, is to have outdoor dining setups that are safe for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.

They should also be “visually appealing for the downtown including the Historic District,” while providing access for people with disabilities, he said.

That includes “well-maintained tables and chairs,” and umbrellas with no advertising, Britz said.

What city councilors are saying about outdoor dining changes

City Councilor John Tabor said the outdoor dining ordinance has “come a long way” and came “together really nicely.”

City Councilor Rich Blalock, a restaurant owner himself, said he was “very supportive” of the design standards” when “it comes to safety and people with disabilities.”

“I want to be careful about imposing a cost on any business,” he said. “I don’t want to be designing restaurant’s furniture. That’s a big cost.”

City Councilor Andrew Bagley agreed the council created outdoor dining to help restaurants.

But he noted “the reason we have outdoor dining is because our residents want it. Our job as a council is to come up with a way that makes it so restaurants want to participate."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH looks to move outdoor dining off busy streets