Petoskey expects modest restaurant interest in dining deck option this year – Petoskey News-Review

PETOSKEY Discussions at a Petoskey City Council meeting this week suggest outdoor dining options in the downtown district this year will look very similar to last year.

Officials Monday passed a resolution allowing downtown restaurants to rent out a parking space in front of their buildings from mid-May to mid-November, to be used for dining decks. The plan, which Petoskey Downtown Management Board members recommended at their January meeting, follows much the same formula that the city tested last year as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.

One small change between this year and last is that restaurants owners will only be allowed to take up one streetside parking space, instead of two. The participating establishments generally stuck to one space last year anyway. Though the resolution eventually was met with unanimous approval, council members did raise several questions about how the plan would be carried out this year, especially in terms of parking availability and revenues.

But the dining decks may only have a minor net effect on the number of open parking spots, based on limited participation.

We do have an idea of how many will be taken, said Becky Goodman, downtown director. We did a survey and we saw that there was not that much interest, except for the two that were out last year. Potentially there could be maybe one more.

The restaurants participating last year were Tap30 and City Park Grill.

One factor is the high barrier to entry. Building a deck is a huge investment of about $10,000, Goodman said. On top of that, eligibility will be exclusive to businesses that are already set up for indoor dining those that only offer counter service wont have the option.

There are few candidates who will qualify for it, and there are very few who have expressed interest, Goodman said.

The impact on parking revenues is yet to be determined. A restaurants use of a parking space will cost $200 a month, equivalent to the estimated revenue brought in by a space, but if COVID-19 indoor dining restrictions are still in place later on this year that charge wont be applied.

The resolution would have a one-year lifespan, but may precede a more permanent ordinance setting a dining deck policy from 2022 into the foreseeable future. The downtown management board will be assessing a number of variables in preparing that policy including the best way to set pricing.

Cost of a parking space downtown can be measured in many ways, not just the revenue it brings in, Goodman said.

Specific design regulations will also likely be included in the more permanent version of the policy. For this year, participants will have their designs reviewed by the city for safety and aesthetics.

Reactions from other downtown establishments have varied. In previously reported survey responses the management board collected last year, 24 downtown business owners said they would like to see dining deck options alongside the streets next summer. Eighteen said they would not.

A comprehensive policy must put overall safety of our downtown guests first and foremost, issues such as distance from intersections, driver visibility, space for emergency vehicles to pass must also be considered, said Reg Smith, vice president of hotels at Staffords, in a letter to the city council.

Smith also cited concerns about design standards and revenues.

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Petoskey expects modest restaurant interest in dining deck option this year - Petoskey News-Review