COVID ushered in a brave new world for bars and restaurants in West Hollywood, and that world looks like it’s here to stay.
City Council moved one step closer Monday night to permanently allowing outdoor dining on sidewalks and in parking lots, as well as permitting the sale of alcohol as a takeout/delivery item — the hallmarks of the OUTzone program, created at the height of the pandemic to mitigate the economic effect of lockdowns on the city’s dining and nightlife establishments.
“I’ve never seen our city so vibrant and full of life and excitement and happening,” said Councilmember John D’Amico, who voted alongside his colleagues to approve staff’s recommendations in two separate motions.
“I have a different perspective,” said Mayor Lauren Meister during councilmember comments. “I feel like we are putting the cart before the horse, by not discussing the OUTzones and how that’s actually going to work, which places should have them, which places shouldn’t have them.”
Meister was concerned about the amendments’ unforeseen consequences, and she wondered whether there was a reason to institute them before more public feedback could be attained.
“We do have a parking issue here,” Meister said “I hear it from from people all the time and I hear it from business owners. Staff is comparing us to San Diego, and we are not San Diego. For people coming into West Hollywood, from other areas, we’re still seeing people take their cars. We’re not seeing everybody in rideshares. And rideshares are also getting more and more expensive. If people can’t find a place to park, then that could hurt business, and even ride-sharing cars are causing traffic problems.”
“The OUTzones have been very successful for getting us through the pandemic, but I there’s a little bit of a disconnect here,” said former Councilmember Steve Martin during public comment, echoing her concerns. ” It seems like a little bit of a rush; it has a vague tinge of the Robertson Lane closing, which seemed like a great idea, but it kind of came back and to bite you in the ass.”
Meister voted for the measure after the council reached a compromise limiting the amount of outdoor dining space with no parking requirement.
The motion also directs city staff to explore the use of public parking potentially to allow two-hour free parking during the day and or at night or both, as well as additional community outreach.
The amendment to allow bars and restaurants to sell alcohol as a takeout item, already enshrined in state law, passed without D’Amico’s support.
I’m sorry. This is getting ridiculous. This is the worst reporting ever and it keeps continuing. Grammar, half stories are NOT reporting. I know you can do better. We used to have a standard. Can you please report the whole story or nothing at all? What is someone supposed to take away from this? We didn’t hear the other side, just a few tid bits of what Lauren said. There was a much bigger debate.
I think this is the conversation where M Meister kept saying she wanted the input of residents.
She appears to be the only person who ever does.
Again, the comments are mostly negative, as usual.
What is the matter with too many of the people here?
This is not like dining out in Paris, Munich, Berlin, London or countless other sidewalk eateries. This is a Shantytown or Tobacco Road atmosphere. Not safe or attractive . Amateurish.
Thank you Lauren for your reasonable and well thought out approach to this. Not only are the disabled being overlooked, once again, but so we’re just average people who are trying to get around. Stache took over the whole sidewalk so now we have to walk on plywood in the street. What is the plan for this? And the problem is not just on Santa Monica Boulevard. Has anyone bothered to look at the intersection of Palm and Holloway where Dialog Cafe has basically taken over the street? It was hard enough seeing cars coming west on Holloway before but… Read more »
At the beginning of the article you wrote that “The City Council moved one step closer to…“ So, hopefully that means it’s not set in stone yet. This is good. The Disabilities Advisory Board and the Senior Advisory Board have yet to meet this month, and I am hoping that they will take up the questions of both parking and sidewalk accessibility in regard to the continued use of outzones. I know that their recommendations will be submitted to the City Council. And I’m hoping that the City Council will listen to what they have to say! Sadly, it seems… Read more »
There’s nothing like eating in the filthy street.
Exactly, and sharing your table with homeless drug addicts peeing next to you whilst veterans in wheel chairs can’t get through.
Thank you Lauren for speaking up about the parking issue. As a handicapped individual I need to park as close s possible to my destination or I can’t go due to limited mobility. In the old days I would just wait for a metered space to open. Now there are many stores I am no longer able to go to because there is no proximate parking.
“our city so vibrant and full of life and excitement” HUH? Does this guy ever go out?
D’Amico can’t help saying and doing stupid things. Thankfully he is gone. No respect to him and the harm he has done to our community,
I go out all the time. Sometimes to restaurants, sometimes to a bar, sometimes just to walk around. I’d say this statement is accurate.
I know that doesn’t fit the “sky is falling” narrative on here though.
You sound like him.
Santa Monica Blvd. is as vibrant as I have every seen it and that really helped our budget bounce back after COVID. The Out Zones did help create that vibrancy but in we still have to make our sidewalks ADA compliant. Mayor Meister has the right idea, fix the problem areas before you give businesses an entitlement, this is just common sense. It was so typical of staff to have ignored our Disability Advisory Board when they brought this item forward.
Our current council is lacking common sense. And it has for sometime. this should be a class action lawsuit filed by people with disabilities.
John “Ed Buck” D’Amico is an oral cripple. Nightmarish to listen to his blabbering claptrap. Another drawback for this political hack is that he thinks he’s funny. He is about amusing as a dead baby’s doll. Thank the Sky Gods he is history in November.
“Post-COVID”
COVID is here to stay
You mean the CCP Flu – Chinese Communist Party Flu.
No, I mean COVID
LA County is back in the covid high transmission category and the mask mandate is returning this month. We need outzones to continue to be there to accommodate this for many people, whether you happen to care or not.
Taxpayers pay for these sidewalks that have been appropriated by certain businesses. Forced to walk on narrow wooden boards–placed in the street–around select bars and restaurants is another insult to residents who have to navigate these areas in daily life. Not to mention the unnecessary dangers posed to mobility-challenged people and the added risk that pedestrian crowding brings in a Covid world, residents should be demanding the return of public property that our taxes made possible.
Outzones can be a good thing, if done properly. Lauren Meister gets it right again by saying that things should be thought out and consideration given to where they make sense, and where they don’t. There also needs to be design considerations that remove the look and feel of a war zone. Pedestrian right of way must be restored, particularly at the Tom Tom/Beaches mess and the Stache over-encroachment. The installations at Pure Vita and Norah are dangerous and must be scaled back.
Absolutely. You are 100% correct.
All this noise about Public Safety completely and consistently overlooks pedestrian safety on our sidewalks. The City Council needs to be introduced to the concept of NO!
NO TO SCOOTERS ON SIDEWALKS, NO TO OUTZONES ON SIDEWALKS!
Critical thinking wanted.
Critical thinking is a product of a classical liberal education. We are now knee deep in woke reactionary education indoctrination and intolerance.
Once again, the council rushed these items to approval. These were supposed to be temporary. With no clear vision for a “permanent” installation, we have a shanty town appearance. What about pedestrians? The sidewalks are a public right of way. If you want to create permanent outdoor dining on the public right of way, then create a new sidewalk where the street parking use to be. Even with that, what are the handicap supposed to do, park far away from a business and crawl to their destination? We really need to get these fools out. Thank God D’Amico is on… Read more »
If parking is such an issue, expand the trolley services. And please, for the love of gay…power wash our rainbow crosswalk on a regular schedule. They’re disgusting.