'Ton Of Input' On Elmhurst Outdoor Dining

ELMHURST, IL – Few are thinking of outdoor dining in the days before Christmas. But the Elmhurst City Council is.

On Monday, aldermen unanimously approved a plan to scale back such dining downtown.

The compromise involved parking spaces used for outdoor dining, known as "parklets."

Under the deal, the parklet period would be reduced to Memorial Day to Labor Day – 103 days, down from 214.

The compromise would allow a restaurant to use up to two parking spaces next year, down from three in 2022. The cost for two spaces next summer would be $2,500, a lot higher than this year's $1,000.

"I think all the aldermen received a ton of input on this issue, probably more than almost any issue that has come before the council," Alderwoman Marti Deuter said.

Aldermen generally expressed their desire to revise downtown dining in the next year or two as part of an overall downtown plan, perhaps by summer 2024.

But Alderman Jacob Hill proposed amending the plan to sunset the new dining rules before the 2024 outdoor dining season, compelling the council to reexamine the issue.

"If we feel outdoor dining is really essential to the social and economic vibrancy of Elmhurst, I think it deserves ongoing attention, so the purpose is to give this an expiration date, sunset date or renewal date," Hill said. "Sometimes our best intentions for programs, policies and services fade over time."

Others disagreed with the deadline, saying they were determined to produce an overall downtown plan.

"I'm reluctant to hamstring or force the hand of a future council," Alderwoman Noel Talluto said.

The City Council voted 8-6 against Hill's proposed hard deadline. Hill got the support of aldermen Bob Dunn, Jennifer Veremis, Brian Cahill, James Nudera and Chris Jensen.

Dunn asked whether the city would limit the number of restaurants with parklets.

Alderwoman Dannee Polomsky said the compromise includes no cap. She said she doubted more restaurants would take advantage of the program, given the higher cost to use spaces.

According to the city, 19 out of 58 parking spots along York Street between Adelaide and Second streets were used for parklets last summer.

Parklet supporters, however, have pointed out that the 19 spots were out of 1,500 in the entire downtown, or about 1.3 percent.

Under the compromise, the city would require restaurants to cover barriers. Restaurants are encouraged to install approved planters on the barriers. Aldermen agreed the orange barriers surrounding parklets were ugly.