Gainesville City Council is expected to vote next week on some minor changes to the city's ordinance that governs the operation of sidewalk cafes in the city.
Assistant City Manager Angela Sheppard presented the changes to city council members at a Thursday morning work session.
The biggest change would open up Spring Street between Main Street and Bradford Street for outdoor dining. Right now, there's only a parking lot there, but that will change in the future.
"With Parkside on the Square development coming on that fourth side, we realized we needed to address that section of Spring Street as we have the other three sides of the square," Sheppard said, noting that the city is being proactive with the addition of that space to the ordinance.
Another small tweak to the ordinance includes requiring trash from outdoor cafes to be disposed of inside restaurants, rather than in receptacles located in the same area where the outdoor tables and chairs are located. In addition, restaurants would not be required to remove tables and chairs from the sidewalks after hours. Sheppard pointed out most don't move the furniture now, even though the current ordinance requires they do so.
To read all of the proposed changes to the ordinance, follow this link to the agenda for the upcoming voting session.
The Gainesville City Council will vote on the changes at its meeting on Tuesday, May 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gainesville Justice Center on Queen City Parkway.
