Defining the Line between Clutter and Allure

By Erica Williams

Jan. 26 -- Take a stroll down Main Street on any given day, Saturday afternoons especially, and the sidewalks are teeming with diners and shoppers local merchants are trying hard to lure.

The attention grabbers include everything from illegal sandwich or menu board signs to eclectic displays of merchandise to decorative items like potted plants that compete with bicycle racks, trees and parking meters for the limited sidewalk space pedestrians must navigate.

Now, a recent crackdown on sidewalk obstruction violations by the City's newly beefed-up code compliance unit has left many merchants confused about what's allowed on the setback just in front of their businesses.

And it's left several council members worried that the push to enforce sidewalk regulations could not only empty city streets of what some consider visual appeal and others visual clutter, but could rob them of their energy and vitality, severely diminishing the pedestrian flavor the City is trying to foster.

That's why Council members Michael Feinstein and Pam O'Connor have asked the City Council to review and consider modifying its policies on the use of sidewalks for outdoor restaurant seating and merchandise displays and signs at its upcoming meeting Tuesday.

Feinstein and O'Connor want the City to clarify existing policy and make adjustments, where necessary, that would "promote economic health, an active street life and clarity and compliance with the Municipal Code."

"What are the rules and regulations that would allow for safety and aesthetic?" O'Connor said. "We all need to use the streets, how can we make it work?"

But Planning Commissioner Kelly Olsen, who has been pushing the Planning Department to crack down on illegal sidewalk displays since his appointment in 1999, is troubled by the move.

Olsen contends that the law is very clear. Typically, a business must ensure that "at least a four-foot contiguous sidewalk width is kept clear" for pedestrians to get by, according to the City's municipal code on sidewalk obstruction. The law just needs to be enforced, he said.

Lax enforcement over the years, Olsen argues, has led to businesses ignoring City codes and lulled many owners into feeling entitled to do anything they want in front of their properties.

"If a resident was to put his couch on the sidewalk or store his car on the sidewalk he'd get a ticket and probably be arrested," said Olsen, who served on the council between 1990 and 1994.

O'Connor counters that the issue is not about retreating from code enforcement. It's about finding the right balance between lively streets that would allow businesses to thrive while keeping pedestrians safe, she said.

Small businesses don't have big advertising budgets, O'Connor added, so they put something in front of their buildings "to catch people's eye" and draw them in.

Feinstein agrees with Olsen that there was little enforcement before the City Council decided to move from a complaint-driven enforcement model to a more proactive stance.

But the enforcement has been somewhat uneven, Feinstein said. That, combined with a complicated code, has left many owners confused and concerned that their businesses are now threatened. Many businesses have reported that sales since the crackdown have fallen between 30 and 50 percent, Feinstein said.

"In bad economic times, when business is getting worse, we need to do a community guts check to see whether we have struck the right balance," Feinstein said.

Take the case of Christine Vert Ironworks on Lincoln Boulevard, whose owner contacted then mayor Feinstein in October after being cited for outdoor displays of merchandise and "unpermitted outdoor use."

The small business that designs and manufactures wrought-iron furniture, which has been operating for three years, occupies an old house that has been converted to commercial use. The business uses a substantial 17-foot setback from the pavement, which is planted with a garden, to display its furniture and accessories.

"The outside display is critical to our business," store representative Galia Nitzan wrote in a letter to Feinstein. "Many clients walk or drive by, and many come in due to the display outside."

The sales at the ironworks business have fallen off sharply since it removed its outdoor display, Feintein said. So much so, that it is now considering shutting down because customers can no longer find it or don't know that it's open.

"It's counter intuitive to force that space to be an antiseptic unproductive space," Feinstein said, pointing out that he, as well as many business owners he has spoken with, did not realize that the City had the power to regulate a setback on the basis of aesthetics.