City Council Agenda and Packet 2020 05 26 SP

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SUBJECT: RESOLUTION 36, SERIES 2020 DATE: MAY 26, 2020 PAGE 2 OF 5 streets open to vehicular traffic; each intersection would also remain open to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The closure is expected to be in place for an extended period, because it is not currently known how long we will remain in this next stage of public health requirements. The City Attorney drafted the ordinance to allow the closure until Council takes action to remove the closure. The closure would not commence until all State guidance has been finalized and all participating businesses have been approved (described in further detail below). At this time we are seeking a 24/7 closure, but the hours of operation will be further refined. Our annual Downtown Patio Program, which deploys approximately 26 12-foot patios as "parklets" on Main and Front Streets between late April and early November, is unfortunately not feasible with meeting physical distancing needs. Attachment #3 includes base maps for each of the blocks of the anticipated closure. Staff has noted all of the existing food and beverage establishments with labels. There are 17 existing businesses that may wish to participate in the program. We envision blocking each intersection and using signage there to also make the sidewalks for one- way traffic. This method will keep access to all Main Street businesses via a safe means of physical distancing. In developing the program to accompany the closure, staff has worked with the DBA and held a virtual meeting with downtown restaurant stakeholders on May 20. The businesses were in support of the closure. The more complex piece of the closure is the determination of the street layout that will meet State public health requirements, regulations from the Colorado Liquor Enforcement Division (LED), and provide comfort and safety to residents. Staff has experimented with several layouts, but we also have asked the DBA to take a lead in coordinating this program component. The DBA can interact with all of the food and beverage establishments to determine if they wish to participate, what hours they would operate, and how to equitably distribute the number of tables each participating business is allowed. Businesses wishing to use the ROW for expanded seating would be asked to provide their own tables. The Resolution is crafted for Council approval of the road closure, but staff asks to have administrative approval of the actual street layout in order to be flexible and efficient to respond to State regulations and timeframes. We anticipate the DBA would recommend the street layouts to be approved by Staff, and then that information also forms the basis of what businesses can use to apply for a temporary modification of premise through the State for their liquor license. Each food and beverage establishment would be responsible for maintaining their designated seating area, including sanitizing tables and chairs between each seating. The City would develop a licensing agreement for the participating businesses, similar to what our patio program participants sign each year. The closure of Main Street would require the re-routing of the RTD bus. Staff has verified this is possible, even for the extended time period proposed. We also continue to coordinate with Fire Marshal from the Louisville Fire Protection District, Police, CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION q