Hermosa Beach City Council pondered a return to outdoor dining and storefront displays on Hermosa sidewalks, before kicking the matter to the curb for at least two more weeks.
Over the summer the council launched the “Hermosa Clean Sweep” campaign to clear the public right-of-way of non-permitted tables, chairs, business signs and furniture. The move ended almost all outdoor dining on the newly remade upper Pier Avenue, and suspended it along most of Hermosa Avenue.
Al fresco dining has continued unhindered at some businesses such as the Starbucks coffeehouse on Hermosa Avenue, which holds permits for outdoor tables that are bolted to the sidewalk. Outdoor dining also continued on the seaside PierPlaza, where restaurants have long held permits and carried liability insurance to maintain large patios on city-owned pavement, and at scattered upper Pier eateries that own scraps of land adjacent to the public sidewalk.
In July, Councilman Peter Tucker began pushing for outdoor dining on a trial basis. On Tuesday the council discussed a six-month trial for businesses that carry liability insurance, secure city encroachment permits, and preserve four feet of sidewalk for pedestrians. The plan would not add outdoor alcohol service.
The plan would not allow outdoor dining along Pacific Coast Highway, which is controlled by state officials who declared the sidewalk too narrow to accommodate diners and pedestrians. The plan also continues a sidewalk dining ban on upper Pier Avenue, which was imposed when the council created special zoning for the recent remodeling of the avenue.
After some discussion, council members punted the entire sidewalk issue until their next regular meeting Sept. 27, but not before adding the possibility of storefront displays on the sidewalks, which also was banned in the Clean Sweep.
Alex Abad of South Bay Brokers, who works out of an office complex at Pier and Manhattan avenues, told the council that he had to remove a “lifeguard type of a chair” that he built in part to attract business.
“Everybody loved it,” he said. “…It was very ‘beachy.’”
Mayor Howard Fishman told Abad that officials worried about trip-and-fall lawsuits from non-permitted sidewalk items.
Councilman Kit Bobko countered that while liability is “a little bit” of an issue, critics’ main objection to the commercial use of the upper Pier sidewalks is fear that alcohol service will eventually be allowed.
“Let’s be clear, this isn’t about sitting or liability, this is about alcohol…You are getting the butt end of that policy. We are losing out on your business, your neighbor’s business, and other businesses, because there is a loud, vocal minority that doesn’t want alcohol on Pier Avenue,” Bobko said.
Yolanda Reyes, of Anthology Boutique in the same office complex, said she had to remove a display rack from the sidewalk.
“This has affected my business a lot,” she said.
Councilmen Jeff Duclos and Michael DiVirgilio, along with Fishman, said the sidewalk plan needed more study. DiVirgilio added that the council is struggling to prioritize the many tasks it gives to the city staff, and he said the urgency of the sidewalk plan should be weighed against other initiatives.
