Manhattan Beach City Council considers charging for outdoor dining decks
by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach City Council spent much of the last 14 months grappling with how to handle the pandemic locally. Now, as the pandemic wanes but its impacts linger, the Council is faced with a new set of challenges. On Tuesday night, at its first meeting conducted in-person since March of last year, the Council considered charging local restaurants $4 per square foot for public right of way “parkettes,” used for the construction of outdoor dining decks during the pandemic. The concern that compelled the discussion wasn’t just financial, although a staff report indicated that the City is losing $734,597 annually due to the 78 parking spaces taken from public use by the dining decks — a figure that includes parking fees, citations, and ongoing maintenance expenses. The other issue is that, absent a per square foot fee, the use of the public right of way by restaurants could violate California law if it is deemed a gift of public funds. “No one’s here trying to be an extra burden on business,” said Councilperson Steve Napolitano. “But there is this state Constitution that we’re all under, that requires us to not provide a gift of public funds. And that’s why…
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