Outdoor Restaurant Seating Now Permitted Year-Round

Outdoor restaurant and café seating can now take place year-round in Stratford, weather permitting, following the approval of several amendments to the town zoning regulations.

Other amendments that were approved last week by the Zoning Commission restricted where rock-crushing operations are permitted and raised the height of fences required between adjacent commercial and residential properties.

The outdoor dining regulation previously allowed food service establishments to offer patio and sidewalk seating from May 1 to Oct. 31 and required them to seek annual approval from the Zoning Commission.

The revision will allow it year-round, and food establishments will only have to get approval by the Zoning department staff.

Zoning administrator Gary Lorentson said the revision proposal came out of his office. It would allow the administrator to deny an outdoor seating permit if there had been complaints.

He said the annual approval requirement is needed to make sure the applicant doesn’t change the number or placement of tables.

One concern was about snow removal. For example, if a restaurant were permitted to have outdoor seating year-round, wouldn’t that eventually impede snow and ice removal from sidewalks?

The commission solved that by requiring tables and chairs to be removed and umbrellas and awnings closed during times when they were not in use for an extended period, or during wintry conditions.

Zoning Commission Chairman Christopher Silhavey said about 25 restaurants and cafés in Stratford offer outdoor dining and there has never been a problem with it.

Lorentson said the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) had a concern that outdoor seating should not be allowed below the mean high tide point, which is state property. He said that would be easy to control administratively.

The fence regulation amendment increased the height of a fence required between commercial and residential properties from five to six feet and the opacity from 50 to 100 percent.

The old regulation for opacity required the fence to block 50 percent of the view through the fence, while the amendment requires the fence to block the view entirely.

Lorentson said this change was initiated by the request of a resident, Patricia Barnish of Main Street, who lives next to a business.

The DEEP raised a concern that a fence located near the shoreline might obscure the view of coastal waters and tidal marshes, something that would violate the state’s Coastal Area Management regulations. So the Zoning Commission added an exception for fences in that situation.

The rock-crushing amendment will allow such operations only in a general industrial zoning district. Previously, they were also allowed in light industrial zones.

Lorentson noted that the general industrial zone is also the only zoning district where recycling operations are allowed. It is also the Stratford zoning district typically furthest removed from residential zones.

He said even when rock-crushing operations are allowed, they would still need approval of a special case permit.

During the public comment part of the public hearing, Walter Rikunas of Second Avenue questioned why the commission doesn’t simply prohibit rock-crushing operations anywhere in Stratford. He said Bridgeport recently did so.

What do you think about the recent amendments? What changes would you like to see in zoning regulations? Tell us in the comments section below.