Downtown Naples restaurants using city property for outdoor dining will now be required to have 8 feet of walking space next to tables and will face increased fees.

City Council on Feb. 20 unanimously voted to amend its outdoor dining regulations to add 3 feet to the required walking space and to increase permit fees, with some doubling.

Although the Planning Advisory Board recommended 15 restaurants with a 5-foot path using public property for outdoor dining be grandfathered in, Council cited concern overcrowded sidewalks and safety and wanted further changes, including considering parking requirements. The changes require two hearings, but because Council desired further amendments, there will be two more hearings.

“This was a safety issue, people being able to safely pass outdoor dining on public property,” Mayor Teresa Heitmann said before the vote.

Most outdoor dining establishments are on private property and don’t exceed 100 square feet, but 15 restaurants within the Fifth Avenue South Overlay District have permits to use public space. City records show the two with the largest spaces are: Vergina, 700 Fifth Ave. S., with 15 tables and 42 seats, and Bistro 821, 821 Fifth Ave. S., with 12 tables and 38 seats.

The vote came after a hearing and the unanimous recommendation of the city’s Planning Advisory Board last month. Discussions and public hearings began in 2023 and involved restaurateurs and the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District.

Hearings and a decision were delayed due to possible implications of Senate Bill 250, which became law in July 2023. It prohibits municipalities affected by hurricanes Ian and Nicole from making further restrictions on private properties until after October 2026. Because the proposal didn’t involve private property, it moved forward.

A hearing to amend the ordinance to increase permit fees for outdoor dining on public property, as well as private property, will be held at a later date.

In the past, permit application fees were $200 if City Council approval wasn’t required, but $500 if it is. Outdoor dining permits all now require Council approval.

The $2-per-square-foot annual permit fee to use public property would rise to a flat $1,000, plus $50 per seat, while a yearly permit for outdoor seating on private property would double from $50 to $100. A yearly $50 administrative fee to allow dogs in dining establishments would change to a $100 initial permit fee.

Restaurants in other city areas are within planned unit developments, so seating is on private property.

The change requires an 8-foot-clear distance or 50% of the sidewalk, whichever is greater, that must be free of all obstructions, such as umbrellas, chairs and tables, at all times to allow adequate pedestrian flow. City Planner Erica Martin said that means chairs cannot be moved into the sidewalk area and restaurant employees cannot stand in the clear area handing out menus or luring diners inside.

“That’s not an arbitrary number,” Martin said of the 8-foot clear path alongside outdoor dining. “It is the requirement for a commercial sidewalk, so the suggestion was we should make our clear distance consistent with what we would require a public sidewalk to be in a commercial district.”

The outdoor dining area must be adjacent to the building facade, with the clear area between the dining area and the edge of the pavement or landscaping. For umbrellas, there must be 7 feet of vertical clearance from the pavement or sidewalk, and tables and chairs must be oriented so chairs can be pulled out parallel to the sidewalk.

Staff recommended raised fees after reviewing several similar municipalities. Due to the level of enforcement required to monitor outdoor dining on public property, they determined fees should be “increased substantially.” The change mirrors Palm Beach’s permit fees.

Under the code, an outdoor dining permit is a conditional use, but the city manager may suspend it if one or more conditions are in violation, such as restricting pedestrian movement or public health, safety or welfare. The permit would go before City Council for reconsideration and possible revocation after two verified violations within a year, or if a verified violation wasn’t corrected.

In the past two years, no restaurants were brought before Council or the Code Enforcement Board because violations are generally immediately remedied. But Council member Beth Petrunoff and others agreed outdoor dining should be controlled, especially on Fifth Avenue South.

“This really proliferated during COVID,” she said, adding she counted 800 to 1,000 seats.

Martin agreed, adding that in the past, every outdoor dining request was approved. “There is not a mechanism in your code to limit the number of restaurants per block per acre,” she added.

Petrunoff noted the reason for proliferation is restaurants can absorb high rents.

Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison questioned why parking and other requirements weren’t considered years ago, when permitting so much outdoor dining. Martin noted the Fifth Avenue South Special Overlay District was designed to redevelop the district and “make it a vibrant downtown … to drive business.”

Hutchison and others contended it’s now a problem and City Attorney Matthew McConnell agreed to revise the regulations by the next hearing.