City Council Agenda and Packet 2020 11 24 SP

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LL 1tyof_ CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION Louisville AGENDA ITEM 2 COLORADO • SINCE 1878 SUBJECT: DISCUSSION/DIRECTION/ACTION — RESOLUTION NO. 94, SERIES 2020 — A RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF PORTIONS OF MAIN STREET IN DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE FOR OUTDOOR DINING AREAS DATE: NOVEMBER 24, 2020 PRESENTED BY: MEGAN E. PIERCE, ECONOMIC VITALITY DIRECTOR SUMMARY: Louisville's food and beverage establishments have been significantly impacted by closure requirements and capacity limitations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, on May 26, 2020, City Council approved a temporary closure of portions of Main Street (Walnut to Spruce, Spruce to Pine, and Pine to Elm, with all east/west streets open to traffic) to permit expansion of dining areas onto the street. The outcome was Louisville's Outdoor Dining program, including a streamlined process for food and beverage businesses throughout the community to expand dining outdoors. The Main Street closure began June 10 and per the original approval was to conclude on October 5, 2020. In August, staff collaborated with downtown restaurants as well as the Downtown Business Association (DBA) to request an extension of the closure. The program was considered a success and downtown restaurants were still relying heavily on the outdoor seating to supplement indoor dining capacities and lessened comfort of customers to dine inside. On September 1, 2020, City Council approved an extension of the closure in its existing form through October 31, 2020. DISCUSSION: Immediately following Council's approval of the extension, staff began to collaborate on next steps. During this time staff has maintained engagement with the downtown restaurants and the DBA. Numerous conversations between the DBA, staff, and some Council members ultimately resulted in a consensus not to pursue a full winter closure. Those participating in conversations agreed there were logistical issues such as maintaining the conditions of the outdoor dining environment, questions about the tolerance to dine outdoors in winter conditions, and importantly, not all downtown restaurants gave their support to a winter closure. The initial Outdoor Dining program had the support of all Main Street restaurants (even those not wishing to participate). Since October, there have been plans in place to continue to provide outdoor dining options in downtown for the winter. The first iteration of plans involved the full re- opening of Main Street to vehicles and on -street parking under the approval of re- opening the street shortly after October 31. This plan was approved by Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) and involved sidewalk cafe seating in addition to signed curbside CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION