Outdoor dining coming to downtown Salinas

The City of Salinas is offering to waive the sidewalk permit fee for downtown business.

On Tuesday evening, the city council unanimously approved a resolution, making it easier for restaurants to expand outdoors.

They will still need to submit plans to the city, but the process won’t be nearly as complicated.

“On a nice day, there is nothing better than to sit outside, have a glass of wine, good food,” customer Lynn Banks said.

Diners aren’t the only ones excited about the new plan. Restaurants like Patria are looking forward to putting tables on the sidewalk.

“I am very excited. It’s a good thing for Salinas’ old town. It brings the city alive,” said Patria chef and co-owner Paulo Kautz.

It helps when they can do it without having to pay a $300 fee.

“If it is free, we take it for free since we are a new restaurant and we still have a lot of costs,” Kautz said.

The permit cost and complicated application process have kept many businesses from expanding outdoors.

Senior city planner Lisa Brinton says she only knows of one application since 2007 but hopes this move changes that.

“Locally, several of our eateries have expressed an interest in expanding their businesses to offer an outdoor dining experience,” Brinton said.

Even though it cuts back on some city revenue, Brinton says it’ll have other benefits.

“We anticipate that this investment will be recuperated through sales tax revenue that would be anticipated through the increase in business,” Brinton said.

And that’s not just good for the restaurants.

“My business relies on people being able to make a good living in downtown Salinas. I’ve got tenants, if they do well; I do well,” said downtown property owner Frank Saunders.

Brinton says now the process for restaurants will take about three to five days to process, which means residents should be eating outside soon.