Seaside sets permanent rules for outdoor dining parklets.

It’s that time—nearly two years after the start of the pandemic, cities around Monterey County are putting permanent rules in place for one of Covid’s better innovations, outdoor dining parklets. 

Seaside joined the fray on Thursday, Jan. 6, when City Council voted to implement a new set of administrative design guidelines for outdoor dining along the city’s sidewalks or in parking spaces in front of the business. Like other jurisdictions, Seaside jumped on outdoor dining quickly at the beginning of the pandemic and for expediency’s sake, and to keep businesses open, there weren’t many rules around materials or design. These new guidelines put design, safety and permitting regulations in place where previously there were none.

“We want to make sure that anything going forward…is really high quality,” Assistant City Manager Trevin Barber says.

To this end, existing parklet structures will need to be removed within the next 30 days. A business wishing to continue operating a parklet then needs to apply for a permit (this comes with a $500 review fee) and submit architectural designs to the city. There will also be an annual rental fee, per parking spot, of $2,000.

Barber says there are currently just two parklets in Seaside—both on Broadway Avenue, at Cuz’s Sportsman’s Club and Other Brother Beer Co. Mariscos Puerto Nuevo on Broadway also has a sidewalk parklet. He doesn’t expect the new rules will lead to many more parklets, because a lot of businesses in Seaside have private outdoor spaces.

Michael Nevares, cofounder of Other Brother, says he thinks the new rules are “great.” And taking the brewery’s existing parklet down just to build another? “I’m actually excited about that,” Nevares says. The existing space went up pretty quickly—now he feels they have a chance to create something more in keeping with the company’s “design-heavy” brand. 

Nevares says Other Brother already has a design plan, which incorporates concrete walls as well as better shade and rain protection. He estimates, realistically, that it’ll be open for business toward the end of spring.