BANGOR, Maine — With a brand-new square in the heart of downtown Bangor, city officials have crafted a new proposal to entice businesses to create a lively al fresco dining scene — and set standards to follow in doing so.
The proposal would establish a small fee for businesses to set up outdoor dining. For table service with alcohol, the fee would be $200 to serve April through October, or $300 for the entire year. Without alcohol, the fee would be $25 or $50, respectively.
Currently, Bangor does not allow for year-round outdoor dining. At least one downtown restaurant, Blaze, the newest addition to West Market Square, has expressed an interest in outdoor winter dining and drinking.
Blaze owner Matt Haskell said his restaurant would like to open up outdoor seating during winter events, such as the Festival of Lights Parade or New Year’s celebrations — providing small propane heaters and hot wine and other alcoholic beverages to patrons.
Outdoor winter dining is popular in some large cold-weather cities such as Quebec City and Montreal.
That outdoor dining fee serves a dual purpose, according to city officials. It helps the city cover the cost of staff time consumed by the licensing process, and it acknowledges the value of public ways — squares and sidewalks — that the businesses are using.
No municipal fee exists, and the prospect of one doesn’t seem to faze business owners such as Haskell.
“On a good summer night, that’s an hour of business,” he said.
Because West Market Square businesses saw a major hit to their pocketbooks because of the major construction project, the city would have a “fee holiday” in 2015 and wouldn’t charge the new fee to any downtown business until 2016.
Tanya Emery, Bangor’s director of community and economic development, said Thursday that this revised Sidewalk Licensing Agreement policy aims to shore up how the city handles requests for outdoor dining space.
Currently, when a business wants to set up outdoor seating, it submits a proposal to the state, but only when liquor is involved. The state has strict regulations on fencing height and adequate supervision of outdoor dining spaces to ensure alcohol isn’t passed over the railing.
On the municipal level, businesses come to the city to work out details of their agreement — from the size of their seating area to the style of fence used — on a case-by-case basis. There hasn’t been a uniform policy, according to Emery.
The big concern for West Market Square business owners is how much outdoor space they should be allowed to use. With the new square renovations, the city is looking at either an 11-foot or 19-foot limit on outdoor seating areas that extend from the business’ facade.
The limits are based on whether the outdoor seating fences can extend to the near side of the new planters in the square or the far side.
Businesses vehemently support the 19-foot limit, as it allows them to squeeze in much more seating. An 11-foot-limit likely would mean restaurants could only fit one row of tables outside; any more, and servers couldn’t move around. The argument for the 11-foot limit is that having outdoor diners and drinkers around the planters might lead to litter problems or cause damage to trees and shrubs planted there.
In recent years, most businesses had been allowed to spread out about 18 or 19 feet in front of their building, according to Emery, and scaling that back in the new square likely would ruffle some feathers.
However, some councilors, including Gibran Graham and Pat Blanchette, have expressed concerns about outdoor seating taking up too much space in the square. Graham argued the benches in the square would be too close to the outdoor eating areas if the 19-foot limit were approved. Haskell argued that if that proved to be a problem, the benches could be moved.
This 11-foot-or-19-foot debate doesn’t affect downtown businesses that have narrower sidewalks out front. Businesses in that situation are required by law to leave enough space for a wheelchair and a pedestrian to pass side by side, while businesses in West Market Square don’t have to worry about that because of the size of the square.
The proposed Sidewalk Licensing Agreement update is up for council approval at its meeting on Dec. 9. Bangor’s Business and Economic Development Committee has recommended the council adopt the 19-foot limit, but the motion only passed in a 3-2 vote.
Finally, the Sidewalk Licensing Agreement update also seeks to set some standards for fencing, furniture, awnings and umbrellas.
The city would establish a Design Review Committee to determine “minimum requirements” for outdoor seating are design, and it would review and approve proposals submitted by downtown businesses.
“I’m not saying everyone needs a wrought iron fence,” Blanchette said, adding that she also doesn’t think someone should be putting up a white picket fence and giving the downtown a “barnyard look.”
Haskell said outdoor seating was a major factor in his decision to open a second Blaze in Bangor, and he hopes the new square helps to build a vibrant outdoor downtown scene.
“As West Market Square picks up more events, residents and businesses, who knows what it could look like?” Haskell said.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter @nmccrea213.