By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — Area bars and restaurants struggling to keep their doors open amid ongoing restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic got a little help Thursday, Jan. 28.
City Council voted to extend the temporary expansion of the operations outside the establishments and in the city’s rights of way.
Many of the city’s eateries took advantage of the opportunity last year by placing tables and chairs in their parking lots and on the sidewalks around them simply to have any seating at all. As gathering limitations eased a bit, operators found the practice to be popular and continued to do so far into the fall.
With the pandemic at its worst point since it began, it doesn’t look like indoor dining restrictions will be going away anytime soon, so the city has taken actions to extend the expansion.
City Council President Janice Johnston said it is important that the city do everything it can to help restaurants out.
“We want to revise the outdoor seating ordinance and keep it even after COVID,” Johnston said.
City Councilman Howard Dill, who oversees public safety, agreed.
“I think we need to start now to take a serious look at how we can help them with outdoor seating on a year-round basis or at least during warm weather,” he said, adding the city has to “create some kind of formula so that everyone benefits.”
Councilman Sean McGuigan said it also is important for the long-term viability of the city’s restaurants to adjust the parking requirements, which are now based on the number of seats.
But he said it’s not going to be easy because regulations are different in each zone.
“As I got into the code I figured out it wasn’t going to be that easy,” he said. “The code is all over the place relevant to different zones.”
He said Planning Board engineer Bob Watkins created a matrix and suggested having him make a presentation to council so the city can put that in the code and “make it easier to make these adjustments across codes.”
Dill said the city’s parking committee met Jan. 19 and discussed possible metered or paid parking around the Bay Avenue restaurant district. He said there likely would be pushback from residents in the neighborhood but noted that there are 113 parking spaces and based on $1/hour from April 15 to Oct. 15 the city could collect $240,000 in revenue. He said there would be no cost to the city because everything would be paid at a kiosk or via app, noting that restaurant operators could reserve seating for their guests.
“I don’t know how council feels but it would behoove us to have a contractor come in and do a presentation so we have full awareness of the pros and cons of such an endeavor,” Dill said.
McGuigan, who oversees budget and finance, said the committee has begun meeting with department heads to start creating a budget.
“As we begin, I want to stress to those not on the committee to please reach out with any ideas,” McGuigan said. “The budget is a large task and it’s important that everyone understand everything about the budget.”
Three of the seven City Council members are new to their positions.
Johnston said she attended a meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, which requested a letter from the mayor in reference to Somers Point-Mays Landing Road. She said the city requested a speed limit reduction but was denied because the county did not see it as warranted. In light of that rejection, the EDAC would like the mayor to request permission to make it a no-passing zone.
Johnston said bike lanes will be added to the road and she thinks it’s important to slow traffic for the safety of riders and pedestrians.
The EDAC is also asking for support to get the city designated nationally as bike-friendly community.
She said the city must meet certain criteria to qualify, one of which is having readily available bike racks. She suggested encouraging merchants to install them wherever possible.
McGuigan said he would be in favor of making bike racks a requirement for new businesses.
