FULLERTON : Eateries Could Face Fee for Sidewalk Use

Downtown restaurants that use sidewalks as outdoor dining areas soon may be required to pay a fee.

The City Council, in its capacity as the Redevelopment Agency, this week gave preliminary approval for the new fee on a 4-1 vote.

Councilwoman Julie Sa voted against it. She said she did not want the struggling downtown restaurant owners to have to pay new taxes or fees. The rest of the council said the fee will give the city some control over the use of public property for private benefit.

In addition, the city expects to make about $1,500 a year, city officials said.

Businesses “are using public property, and the city should share in the profit,” Mayor A.B. (Buck) Catlin said. “We have no right to give away public property for private use. We are the ones who maintain the property.”

The restaurants have set up dining tables on sidewalks and walkways.

The proposed fee for using public property exclusively for customers of a restaurant is 25 cents per square foot. The restaurants that have tables set up but don’t require customers to buy food will be charged 12 cents a square foot.

“Let (business owners) do it the way they want to do it without fees,” Sa said.

She proposed that the city require downtown businesses to keep the public property they use clean and provide proof of liability insurance. She received no support from the rest of the council.

“I think this is going to cause a lot of anxiety on the part of the people that are trying to make a buck,” resident Allan Morton told the council.

The proposed fee is expected to get final approval in two weeks and take effect in June.