Lombard's Economic & Community Development Committee Recommends Expanding Outdoor Seating, Dining Options to Board of Trustees

“We are starting a new chapter in our downtown,” said Trustee Peter Breen, Chairperson of the Economic and Community Development Committee. “The Committee intends to aggressively pursue ordinance and regulation changes that will help our businesses flourish and bring more families and seniors to our downtown. Our residents and business owners identified outdoor dining downtown as a top priority for this upcoming summer, and we heard them loud and clear.”

Promotion of outdoor seating was undertaken due to the combined efforts of Trustee Peter Breen and Trustee Bill Ware, who worked together with the volunteers and staff of the Lombard Town Centre organization and Village staff on the measure. The Economic & Community Development Committee fast-tracked the proposed changes, so as to allow the Lombard Village Board sufficient time to have the measure in place for this summer's outdoor dining season. Consideration of the measure is currently

scheduled for the April 19, 2012 meeting of the Village Board.

While the Village Code currently provides some opportunity for outdoor seating and dining, downtown business owners who want to offer outdoor seating did not find it financially feasible to do so under the current regulations. The Committee proposal seeks to meet the needs of businesses while also updating the protections in the Village Code to ensure a family-friendly outdoor environment in the downtown. The Economic and Community Development Committee proposal would amend the Village Code in several ways:

• Waive the annual $300 application fee for the 2012 year to encourage businesses to make the capital purchases necessary to provide outdoor seating.

• Allow patrons to consume alcohol after they have finished their meals and even if on their way to another downtown restaurant, as long as meals remain available to patrons.

• Clarify ambiguities in the measurement method of required 4-foot pedestrian clearance areas.

• Prohibit disposal of waste generated by outdoor seating in public receptacles.

• Limit alcohol consumption to defined seating areas.