PLYMOUTH — A group of restaurant owners say they will collectively close their outdoor dining spaces if the city implements a plan to inflate fees and cut available patio space in the downtown area.
City officials emphasize that no such decisions have been made, but restaurant owners said they were “blindsided” when members of the Plymouth City Commission at their July 17 meeting discussed raising outdoor dining fees from an annual $1.50 per square foot of patio space to $15 per square foot of patio space, a 900% increase.
Restaurants also pay an annual flat fee for outdoor dining, which could increase under a new policy, as well.
John Corsi, an owner at Pizza e Vino and Barrio Cocina Y Tequileria, said he attended the meeting at Rotary Park and was surprised city officials did not speak to the restaurant owners before holding a public discussion. City Commission meetings are held at various city parks throughout the summer.
“As I sat there listening, I was just shocked that they could come up with a number like this without even consulting us or asking (restaurant owners) literally anything about it,” Corsi said. “The number they came up with is completely illogical. They’re not even thinking it through in terms of how it would hurt us – to the point where it doesn’t even make sense to open (the patio).”
After the meeting, eight downtown restaurant owners banded together in hopes of generating community support. A statement issued by the group said $15 per square foot is unreasonable, especially with the substantial investments restaurants already make to create the vibrant atmosphere downtown.
Restaurants in Northville and Ferndale pay $1.50 per square foot, for example, while Ann Arbor proprietors pay $1.
The commission’s discussion also included bumping the required pedestrian sidewalk clearance from 6 to 9 feet, which means patio sizes would need to be reduced to accommodate the extra sidewalk space requirements.
For Landon Garrett, an owner at Park Place Gastro Pub on Main Street, that would mean losing about 30% of the space on the new outdoor dining space he spent $35,000 to build, along with $75,000 for the patio at Ironwood Grill on Ann Arbor Trail, where he is also an owner.
Garrett said he probably would not have spent the money if he’d known about the proposed changes.
“We had city approval for everything we built,” he said, “We talked about color, we talked about railings, everything.”
“It’s blindsiding,” he added, noting he and many of the other restaurant owners were not opposed to a reasonable increase in the outdoor dining fees.
Ryan Yaquinto, owner of Compari’s on the Park, Sardine Room and Fiamma Grille, all on Main Street, said the new policy could also require him to move his patios away from the outside wall of the buildings, where they’ve been located since he opened in 2000.
“What’s concerning is the possibility of moving all three patios nine feet away and creating a busy thoroughfare for all of our staff and customers to get through,” Yaquinto said, noting he also has concerns over a potential increase in fees. “If it’s not broke, lets not fix it.”
At Barrio Cocina Y Tequileria, owner Dean Rovinelli said he found the wording in the city documents “aggressive,” particularly taking issue with the city’s statements that “outdoor dining spaces are meant to supplement, not replace, indoor dining,” and that restaurants are “using public property for private economic gain.”
“We’re not replacing indoor dining,” Rovinelli said. “The guests prefer to sit outside. And for them to say we are using it for private economic gain, that’s not embracing and understanding the effort that goes into having a patio. The labor, the cost, the insurance, all for something the city benefits from. The vibrancy created by outdoor dining is part of the branding of the city.”
But Plymouth Mayor Nick Moroz emphasized that the discussion at the July 17 meeting was just that: a discussion.
“No decisions have been made, whatsoever,” Moroz said, noting the city commission has been working with the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority and the city administration to create framework for an outdoor dining policy following several years of changes and adjustments stemming from the pandemic and other considerations.
Currently, he said, the city has two sets of policies related to outdoor dining: one for parking spaces or non-sidewalk spaces used by the restaurants, one for the sidewalk spaces. The city approves the guidelines on an annual basis but would like to create a single policy that provides “a longer runway” for the business owners, the city and everyone who visits the downtown area.
“A new policy should balance the need for walkability in public spaces with the need for outdoor dining,” Moroz said, noting he met with the restaurant owners for a “productive” meeting and expected to have additional dialogue at the Aug. 7 meeting.
“I expect that we’ll certainly push forward on having more discussions that get us toward some sort of resolution,” he said.
The next meeting of the Plymouth City Commission is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, at Caster Park.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin at lcolvin@hometownlife.com or 248-221-8143.
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