Downtown sidewalks opened to new uses

The Monroe City Council has begun the process of establishing an ordinance governing the use of the new sidewalks in Monroe's downtown core. The first reading of the new ordinance was held on Tuesday, June 2, during its regular business meeting.

The ordinance allows for three basic levels of use, all of which require a sidewalk-use permit. The first level, called "merchandise displays,GÇ¥ allows for the display of merchandise available for retail sale. The second level, called "tables and chairs,GÇ¥ allows business owners to set up tables and chairs outside their businesses for customers.

A business like the Sky River Bakery could utilize this level of sidewalk use to increase seating options for its customers during the summer months.

The seating in this second level of sidewalk use would be considered open to the public and not restricted to customers only.

The third level, called "sidewalk caf+¬,GÇ¥ affords a business the exclusive use of the sidewalk. This means a portion of the sidewalk abutting the business could be used for its customers who wish to be served outside. The seating in the sidewalk caf+¬ environment would be available to customers of the business only.

"You can also serve food out there, you can have table service and, if you have the Washington State Liquor Control Board approvals, you can also serve alcohol out there,GÇ¥ said Monroe Public Works Director Brad Feilberg.

Applications for sidewalk caf+¬ service are available on the Washington State Liquor Control Board website (liq.wa.gov/licensing/licensing-forms-and-applications). The board has its own set of guidelines regulating sidewalk caf+¬ service, including staffing requirements, an enclosure rule, lighting regulations and other standards of service.

The city had identified a fee structure, which included nominal fees that could be waived based on council discretion. Councilmember Patsy Cudaback said that she preferred there be no fees. She questioned the reasoning behind setting any sort of fee schedule and asked if fees were required to avoid gifting concerns.

City Attorney Zach Lell clarified that adding a legislative finding to the ordinance establishing the economic benefit of not requiring fees could actually circumvent gifting concerns by demonstrating that the use of the sidewalk area will serve a larger economic purpose.

"Different cities handle that in different ways,GÇ¥ Lell said. "Certainly, the conservative approach is to require some consideration.

"As long as there's a public purpose, the gifting analysis is modified to some extent,GÇ¥ Lell continued. "But again, it is more conservative and certainly the safer approach to require some payment.GÇ¥

Cudaback asked for the fee schedule to be removed from consideration. "I would prefer not to charge a fee at all,GÇ¥ she said.

She made a secondary motion to alter the ordinance in relation to fees. As a result, language in the ordinance was updated to accommodate the change.

The second reading will be held on Tuesday, June 9 at 7 p.m. at Monroe City Hall.

To review the sidewalk use ordinance, visit wa-monroe.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/2407?fileID=3103. -á