A shortage of zoning enforcement manpower may be limiting the enforcement of outdoor dining violations. This despite the P&Z commission having altered their outdoor dining regulation last December so it would “have teeth.”
A recent Saturday morning walk down Greenwich Avenue revealed that many restaurants with nodes had no ADA compliant seating. Some restaurants had built platforms inside the nodes, which is not allowed. One restaurant had uncleared tables from the previous night.
For years Greenwich’s former Planning & Zoning Dept director Katie DeLuca’s proposed annual budget for her department included funding for an additional enforcement officer, but the funding never materialized.
The town has one Zoning Enforcement Officer and three inspectors, including one who is part time. Because of the shortage of manpower, zoning enforcement prioritizes unsafe apartments.
Anticipating the Board of Selectmen would vote for a return of seasonal outdoor dining nodes in 2023, the P&Z commission voted on the more strict regulations in December 2022.
(The Selectmen vote on whether to approve nodes, the P&Z commission regulates what goes on inside them.)
The nodes were initially implemented as an emergency measure during Covid to keep restaurants in business and let people eat out safely.
Of course, the town had outdoor dining prior to the pandemic, but it increased significantly with the nodes.
Last July, at a public workshop on outdoor dining there were complaints about unattractive jersey barrier nodes and the loss of parking given there are 408 spaces on Greenwich Avenue and the nodes displaced 65 of them.
At a second workshop in September, P&Z Planner Shanice Becker reviewed violations she had been tracking including ADA compliance, noise, health and safety. She said restaurants had loud amplified music, dirty sidewalks, and more seats than approved.
“There’s bussing and hostess stations outside, which were never part of the approvals. I think those are contributing the influx of cockroaches and rats,” Becker said.
Also, at that September workshop, P&Z commission chair Margarita Alban said, “I personally am not happy with continuing the nodes. We did them for the pandemic, we did not do them for perpetuity.”
The topic of enforcement came up again.
Then P&Z director Katie DeLuca described violations as “rampant and lingering” at the September workshop.
At the time, Ms Becker said that townwide 75 out of 96 restaurants with outdoor dining were in violation, mostly with increased number of seats than permitted; and 21 had outdoor dining despite not having approval or even having submitted an application.
Since then Ms Becker left her job and Ms DeLuca retired and was replaced by her deputy, Patrick LaRow.
A Regulation with “Teeth”
In December 2022 the P&Z commission created a regulation intended to have “teeth.”
• Outdoor dining areas are required to be kept clear of litter, food scraps or soiled dishes and utensils at all times.
• For all applications, the total number of indoor and outdoor seats cannot exceed the number approved for the restaurant.
• No PA systems or amplified sound are allowed.
• Applicants must provide a plan, drawn to scale, showing tables and chairs as well as a minimum 6-foot public walkway pursuant to ADA and CT state building code.
• Disabled patrons must be accommodated in accordance with all applicable laws.
(The precise language is available here).
Enforcement in 2023
Asked for a list of violations including ADA compliance, Mr. LaRow confirmed by email that, “All outdoor dining needs to provide accessible seating, if one cannot access the outdoor seats, they need to have accessible seating elsewhere, outside, which could be the sidewalk. Those establishments found to be without accessible seating will be noticed as being in violation.”
For violations, he provided a list of restaurants operating without permits. (*see below)
He explained that the timetable for the outdoor dining season in 2023 got off to a late start, including enforcement.
LaRow said outdoor dining wasn’t voted on by the Selectmen until March 9 (two in favor, one abstention), and that restaurants scrambled to work on their applications by the April 1 start of the season. Applications arrived at P&Z in “fits and starts” and many were incomplete.
From there, installation of nodes wasn’t completed until mid-July.
LaRow said P&Z did conduct a walk-through in late July / early August and alerted restaurants verbally of violations. He said many called back to say they had fixed their violations.
Two “targeted inspections,” which LaRow said involve sending out all eight planners and zoning enforcement officials into the field to look for outdoor dining violations are in the works soon.
*Restaurants cited for operating outside dining without permits:
- Joe’s Studio – 185 Sound Beach Ave
- CFCF Coffee – 118 Greenwich Ave and 6 Grigg St
- Falafel Taco – 28 Greenwich Ave
- Granola Bar – 41 Greenwich Ave
- La Fenice – 315 Greenwich Ave
- Gregory’s Coffee – 342 Greenwich Ave
- Canoe – 280 Railroad Ave
- Grigg St Pizza – 1 Grigg St
- Bella Nonna – 280 Railroad Ave
- Glenville Pizza – 243 Glenville Road
- Cos Cobber – 31 East Putnam Ave
- Fairfield Pizza – 1 Strickland Road
- Tomatillo – 65 East Putnam Ave
- Polpo – 554 Old Post Road #3
- Coast – 206 East Putnam Ave
Further, the following establishment was noticed for exceeding their approved maximum seating:
- Sweet Pea’s Baking Co – 212 Sound Beach Ave.
“We continue to do enforcement checks, so there may be violations caught that have not yet been noticed, or the operators addressed that have slipped back into non-compliance,” LaRow added.
See also:
Outdoor Dining Season Starts April 1 with New Rules & Requirements for Restaurants March 11, 2023
Spring is Coming; Selectmen Chew on Input about Seasonal Street Dining Feb 27, 2023
P&Z Revised Outdoor Dining Reg Adds Teeth: Violations Risk Immediate Closure Dec 23, 2022
P&Z Outdoor Dining Workshop: Balancing Vibrancy with Health, Safety & Limited Parking Sept 15, 2022
P&Z Approves 200+ Seat Greek Restaurant in Downtown Greenwich Aug 3, 2022
P&Z Outdoor Dining Workshop Feedback: Unsightly, Unneeded, Unfair
July 13, 2022
The following restaurants have been cited with violations for not having approvals for outdoor dining this season:
- Joe’s Studio – 185 Sound Beach Ave
- CFCF Coffee – 118 Greenwich Ave and 6 Grigg St
- Falafel Taco – 28 Greenwich Ave
- Granola Bar – 41 Greenwich Ave
- La Fenice – 315 Greenwich Ave
- Gregory’s Coffee – 342 Greenwich Ave
- Canoe – 280 Railroad Ave
- Grigg St Pizza – 1 Grigg St
- Bella Nonna – 280 Railroad Ave
- Glenville Pizza – 243 Glenville Road
- Cos Cobber – 31 East Putnam Ave
- Fairfield Pizza – 1 Strickland Road
- Tomatillo – 65 East Putnam Ave
- Polpo – 554 Old Post Road #3
- Coast – 206 East Putnam Ave.
Furthermore, the following establishment(s) have been noticed for exceeding their approved maximum seating:
- Sweet Pea’s Baking Co – 212 Sound Beach Ave.
“We continue to do enforcement checks, so there may be violations caught that have not yet been noticed, or the operators addressed, but have slipped back into non-compliance,” LaRow said.