City Council Minutes 2020 11 24 SP

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City Council Meeting Minutes November 24, 2020 Page 6 of 7 Councilmember Fahey stated she doesn't think keeping the entire street closed is necessary. With colder weather and with stricter rules possibly coming, she feels the seating that can be created in the parking areas is sufficient to meet the demand for the winter months. She is also concerned that people are not adhering to the one household per table rule and the difficulty in enforcing that. She stated there are many residents who aren't using the outdoor seating and prefer take out options. Councilmember Brown stated it is important to look at other options. He stated his concern is not with the outdoor dining but with a large space that could draw lots of people together mixing. He stated during the summer the State was seeing 200-250 cases per week and this might have been safe but we are now reporting 5000 new cases per week; we are in a very different place now. He stated that some outdoor dining may be fine, but creating a large gathering space gives him extreme concern. He stated he wants to support businesses but he doesn't want to put people at risk. Councilmember Leh stated he understands people's livelihoods are at stake and we need to be as supportive as we can to businesses. He also understands the real concern with the current rapid spread of the virus and the possible move to purple status. He stated he has seen overwhelming support for keeping the street closed. In light of not having any other program to help the restaurants, he supports keeping the street closed for the winter with a specific end date. Motion: Councilmember Leh moved to adopt the resolution as presented with an end date of February 28, 2021 or until repealed by resolution and also adding a requirement that the restaurants that are using the dining program be responsible for snow removal; Councilmember Lipton seconded with a friendly amendment to make the end date March 31, 2021. Councilmember Leh accepted that amendment. Councilmember Dickinson made a friendly amendment to link the end date of the closure to end of the Mayor's emergency declaration related the pandemic. Councilmember Leh amended his motion to be March 31, 2021 or to the date when the emergency declaration is lifted, whichever is earlier. Councilmember Lipton accepted that change. Substitute motion: Councilmember Brown offered a substitute motion to allow staff to move forward with the winter plan for seating in the parking spaces and dedicated grab-n- go spaces and also to ask staff to bring back suggestions for Council consideration for additional ways to support the restaurants and businesses. Councilmember Fahey seconded the substitute motion. Councilmember Fahey stated she supports the substitute motion to allow RTD access and emergency access on Main Street for the winter rather than impact residents on La Farge Avenue. She stated this plan would also limit the number of people on Main Street who may be potentially exposed to the virus and it increases the options for takeout and pick up locations.