Batavia Mayor Signs Order To Expand Outdoor Restaurant Seating

BATAVIA, IL — Restaurants in Batavia can now apply for free permits from the city to create new outdoor seating, with restrictions set to loosen Friday under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan. Batavia Mayor Jeffery Schielke signed an executive order last week establishing a temporary permitting process for outdoor seating areas at the city’s restaurants and bars.

Many restaurants and stores have transitioned to delivery and curbside pickup over the past two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, but dine-in restaurants and some bars can reopen Friday with outdoor seating and new restrictions. Retailers can also welcome customers back inside with limited capacities, under the Restore Illinois plan.

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The temporary permits are “an effort to allow Batavia bars and restaurants the greatest opportunity to recover from the devastating effects that the global pandemic has brought upon their businesses,” Schielke’s order reads. The permits will last for 90 days, though the city can terminate or extend the permit program before that window is over.

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The permit application requires Batavia restaurants and bars to outline their existing and proposed outdoor seating areas with aerial maps; show how they will maintain at least 6 feet between tables; and indicate any changes to existing traffic patterns caused by the proposed outdoor seating areas.

Al fresco dining areas must be located at least 6 feet from public sidewalks and restaurants must install fencing at least 3 feet high if the areas encroach on parking areas or alcohol will be served, the order states. Customers will be allowed to drink alcohol in the new outdoor areas, but cannot leave with open containers. Outdoor entertainment is permitted if it does not interfere with neighboring properties.

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The city is seeking approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation to close River Street to create more space for outdoor tables, Alderman Martin Callahan wrote on Facebook.

After a restaurant’s permit application is approved, the establishment must undergo an inspection by a Batavia building official to ensure the restaurant can stick to its submitted plans, according to Schielke’s order.

If restaurants expand their outdoor seating areas into a parking lot of public area without a permit, city officials can force the restaurants to remove the new seating. Those restaurants would also be barred from applying for outdoor-seating permits until Batavia enters Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan, the order states.