Glastonbury Community Development Provides Outdoor Service Guidelines For Restaurants

From the Town of Glastonbury:

May 18, 2020

As part of the first phase of Governor Lamont's Reopen Connecticut, restaurants are able to reopen for outdoor service only as of May 20, provided they comply with the Governor's regulations and submit the required paperwork. The Glastonbury Office of Community Development has made the following information available for local restaurant owners, based on the permitting process for temporary outdoor dining and pursuant to Governor Ned Lamont’s Executive Order 7MM.

NEW Outdoor Dining Areas and EXPANSIONS of Existing Areas:

Applications for temporary outdoor dining SHOULD be submitted if a restaurant wants to:

• Create a NEW, temporary outdoor dining area

OR

• EXPAND upon an existing one.

Please see the "Application Process" section below for the application and submission requirements.

EXISTING Outdoor Dining Areas:

A restaurant owner does NOT need to submit an application if:

• The restaurant already had an outdoor dining area in place prior to the state of public health and civil preparedness emergencies declared on March 10th

AND

• There is NO plan to expand the dining area, change its location, or add a new one.

Restaurant owners who are not required to submit applications are still strongly advised to follow the Governor's Reopen Guidelines entitled, “Reopen Connecticut: Safer, Stronger, Together” for “Restaurants Outdoor Only.”

Application Process

To initiate the Town review process for outdoor dining, please submit the following items to the Office of Community Development via email at planning@glastonbury-ct.gov:

• A completed and signed Temporary Outdoor Dining Application
• Detailed Plans for Outdoor Dining
• Project Narrative
• Upon submission of an application, it is requested that the proposed outdoor dining area be marked out or striped for inspection by town staff.

Planning staff are available to answer questions or to offer preliminary feedback on an application for outdoor dining.

Upon receipt of a complete application, a team of town staff members will review it to ensure that it meets Town requirements, and a decision will be rendered within 10 calendar days of receipt (per the Governor's Executive Order). The review team includes representatives from the Community Development, Health, Building Inspection, Police, Fire Marshal, and Engineering Departments. It is the desire of town staff to support and assist applicants during the review process to help find workable, safe solutions to meet outdoor dining needs.

In addition to any approval issued for temporary dining, it is strongly advised that the restaurant owner follows the requirements in Governor Ned Lamont’s Executive Order 7MM and the “Reopen Connecticut: Safer, Stronger, Together” for “Restaurants Outdoor Only” guidelines.

Contact

Questions regarding this application process should be directed to the office of Glastonbury Community Development at (860) 652-7510 or planning@glastonbury-ct.gov.

This press release was produced by the Town of Glastonbury. The views expressed are the author's own.