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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 42101 ORDINANCE NO. 4210 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, AMENDING CHAPTER 17.75 ECDC, ENTITLED “OUTDOOR DINING,” AND A RELATED SECTION IN CHAPTER 17.70 ECDC, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY NECESSITATING IMMEDIATE ADOPTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE. WHREAS, COVID-19 has created significant impacts to people’s health and well-being, which includes not only immediate physical health, but economic health; and WHEREAS, Washington’s Governor has been proactive in trying to responsibly address coronavirus issues and some of his actions have included orders to close or partially close businesses where COVID-19 transmission has the most risk; and WHEREAS, in Edmonds, food and beverage services, such as restaurants, have been especially impacted by full and partial closures; and WHEREAS, COVID-related restrictions on restaurants and similar businesses have limited or prohibited indoor dining during much of the year; and WHEREAS, even without a state order, many people that want to eat at a restaurant would prefer to do so in an outdoor environment, rather than indoors, to be a safer environment from a COVID-19 standpoint; and WHEREAS, some dining and beverage establishments already have permitted bistro dining for certain sidewalk areas per Chapter 17.70 ECDC or permitted outdoor dining on commercial properties per Chapter 17.75 ECDC; and WHEREAS, outdoor dining on commercial properties per Chapter 17.75 ECDC requires a conditional use permit through a hearing examiner process that is more costly and time-consuming to obtain than an ordinary administrative permit; and WHEREAS, City staff have been working on potential code amendments to allow outdoor dining on commercial properties without a conditional use permit; and 2 WEHEREAS, concepts for amending the code to allow outdoor dining without a conditional use permit were presented in a November 12, 2020 meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety, Planning, and Personnel Committee and subsequently presented in a November 24, 2020 meeting of the City Council; and WHEREAS, the concepts for amending the permit process for on-site outdoor dining have been incorporated into a set of amendments to Chapter 17.75 of the Edmonds Community Development Code; and WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 36.70A.390, this interim ordinance may be adopted on an emergency basis without first holding a public hearing; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 17.75 of the Edmonds Community Development Code, entitled “Outdoor Dining,” is hereby amended to read as set forth in Exhibit A, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as if set forth in full (new text is shown in underline; deleted text is shown in strike-through). Section 2. Section 17.70.010 of the Edmonds Community Development Code, entitled “Other temporary buildings,” is hereby amended to read as set forth below (new text is shown in underline; deleted text is shown in strike-through): Except as provided in ECDC 17.70.030 and 17.75.010, a conditional use permit shall be required to construct a temporary building in any zone. The permit shall be administratively reviewed by staff and shall be valid for a period of one year; provided, however, that said permit may be extended by the development services director for a single one-year extension upon submittal of a written application prior to the expiration of the original permit. All the requirements of the zoning district shall be met. An appeal of the staff decision granting or denying such a permit or extension shall be reviewed by 3 the hearing examiner in accordance with the requirements for any other conditional use permit under Chapter 20.06 ECDC. Section 3. Sunset. This interim ordinance shall remain in effect for 180 days from the effective date or until it is replaced with another ordinance adopting permanent regulations, after which point it shall have no further effect. Section 4. Emergency Declaration. The city council hereby declares that an emergency exists necessitating that this ordinance take effect immediately upon passage by a majority vote plus one of the whole membership of the council (RCW 35A.12.130), and that the same is not subject to a referendum. Without an immediate adoption of this interim zoning ordinance, restaurants would have to go through a much longer permit process before being able to offer outdoor dining. Any delay in the ability of the city’s restaurants to offer additional outdoor dining could further jeopardize an already struggling restaurant industry. Therefore, this ordinance should be imposed as an emergency measure to protect the public health, safety and welfare by staving off restaurant failures and creating regulations so that Edmonds citizens will have safer places to dine for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic. Section 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, clause, sentence, or phrase of this ordinance should be held invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect immediately upon passage, as set forth in Section 4, as long as it is approved by a majority plus one of the entire membership of the council, as required by RCW 35A.12.130. If it is not adopted by a majority plus one of the entire membership of the council, then the language declaring an emergency shall be disregarded, in which case, this ordinance, being an exercise of a power specifically delegated to the City legislative body, is not subject to referendum and shall take effect five (5) days after passage and publication of an approved summary thereof consisting of the title. 6 CHAPTER 17.75 OUTDOOR DINING Sections: 17.75.010 Outdoor dining – Permitted secondary use. 17.75.020 Outdoor dining – Secondary uses requiring a conditional use permit. 17.75.030 Outdoor dining buildings or structures. 17.75.010 Outdoor dining – Permitted secondary use. A. Limited outdoor seating for outdoor dining is allowed as a permitted secondary use in the BN – neighborhood business zone, BC – community business zone, BP – planned business zone, BD – downtown business zone, CW – commercial waterfront zone, CG – general commercial zone, WMU— Westgate Mixed Use, MU – medical use zone, and FVMU – Firdale Village mixed use zone. When established as a permitted secondary use, the outdoor dining area shall currently comply or be proposed to comply with at least one of the following criteria: 1. The site is not directly adjacent to any residentially zoned property(ies). 2. The site complies with the landscaping requirements found in Chapter 20.13 ECDC along the property line(s) directly adjacent to residentially zoned property(ies). 3. The dining area is screened from adjoining residentially zoned property(ies) by a building and/or a four -foot wall, hedge, or solid fence. 4. Seating is limited to an additional 10 50 percent of the existing interior seating of the establishment or 12 30 seats, whichever is greater. 5. Any dining area adjacent to vehicle parking shall be separated by landscaping, curb stop, wall or other suitable barrier, B. For sites directly adjacent to residentially zoned property, the outdoor dining area shall be closed between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. C. Areas utilized for outdoor dining shall comply with setback requirements applicable to the site. Temporary buildings or structures used for the outdoor dining use do not require a separate conditional use permit. D. Seating shall be located outside of public rights-of-way. Seating within public rights-of-way is reviewed as bistro dining pursuant to the requirements of ECDC 18.70.030 or as a streatery pursuant to ECDC 18.70.030.. E. No additional parking stalls shall be required for outdoor dining usage. For any outdoor dining space that would utilize existing on-site parking spaces, at least one ADA-accessible space must remain or be located on the site, 17.75.020 Outdoor dining – Secondary uses requiring a conditional use permit. Outdoor dining not meeting the requirements of ECDC 17.75.010on property outside of the public right of way shall be a secondary use requiring. a conditional use permit only if the use includes a component subject to a building or fire permit. Components requiring a building or fire permit include, but are not limited to, detached (free-standing) structures and structures attached to a building, such as awnings, canopies, roofs, and pergolas. within the zones stated in ECDC 17.75.010(A). This use shall be established and maintained only in accordance with the terms of a conditional use permit approved by thethis chapter. hearing examiner as a Type III-A decision under the procedural requirements contained in Chapter 20.06 ECDC. At a minimum, the conditions considered for imposition by the hearing examiner may include a restriction on operating hours, location of the outdoor seating, and/or buffering of the noise and visual Exhibit A 7 impacts related to the outdoor dining seating. All seating permitted pursuant to the conditional use permit shall be located outside of public rights-of-way. If outdoor seating is approved under these provisions, no additional parking stalls shall be required for the outdoor dining. 17.75.030 Outdoor dining buildings or structures. Any building or structure such as a service stand, fence, planter, kiosk, awning or other shelter utilized in serving outdoor diners shall fully comply with all provisions of the State Building Code and this community development code, including but not limited to design reviewTitle 19 building and fire codes.