Raleigh lessens blow on downtown businesses

City leaders appeared to acknowledge Tuesday that while downtown Raleigh is generally a success, regulations and fees approved this summer could set back some individual businesses.

The Raleigh City Council walked back moves it made less than five months ago that limited outdoor dining and that eliminated free parking in city decks at night and on weekends, making downtown visits more expensive for drivers.

The council voted unanimously to limit a parking fee it had approved to start on Dec. 31. It will now cost $5 to park in the decks on Friday and Saturday nights, rather than nights and all day on weekends as previously decided. The fee will pay for cleaning the decks four nights a week, according Raleigh City Manager Ruffin Hall. Maintenance crews currently clean the decks as needed.

Later, in a 6-2 vote, the council scrapped a rule requiring downtown businesses to cease dining services on public sidewalks at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Sidewalk dining on those nights will now end at 2 a.m., when many establishments close.

The rules are now almost identical to those councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin proposed this summer. Council members said they may also revise the rule that limits sidewalk seating to one person per 15 square feet of space. A midnight sidewalk-dining cutoff will remain in place Sunday through Thursday nights.

While a compromise on the parking deck fees was expected – Mayor Nancy McFarlane said weeks ago she was willing to work with opponents – the council’s decision to amend the sidewalk dining rules came as a pleasant surprise to business owners.

“They’re actually starting to listen to the business leaders in the community (and) work with us to create a vibrant downtown,” said Zack Medford, who co-owns three bars on Fayetteville Street.

Medford said his bar Paddy O’Beers was on pace for a record year in sales until the council passed the sidewalk restrictions in August. Revenues are now down 18 percent from last year, but he’s encouraged by the council’s willingness to compromise.

“I think we’ve got some very strong leaders on the City Council,” he said.

Election issues

The cutoff was part of a controversial set of sidewalk dining restrictions that took center stage leading up to the recent council elections.

Opponents of the sidewalk rules have said they deter visitors. And some business owners – including Medford – backed council candidates who ran against incumbents in October’s election.

Meanwhile, rule supporters said they tempered what had become a dormlike atmosphere and improved the quality of life for downtown residents. One supporter of the measures, liberal activist Dean Debnam, countered Medford and others by launching an attack ad suggesting downtown would become “DrunkTown.”

On Tuesday, McFarlane said that some of the sidewalk rules were working but that others did nothing but hurt downtown businesses during times when they depend on sales the most.

The city’s requirement that sidewalk diners remain seated – not the nighttime cutoff – is the reason downtown walkways are clearer and quieter at night, McFarlane said. Some businesses encountered awkward situations and lost business if they didn’t have indoor seating available for outdoor diners when the cutoff came, she said.

“Who do you kick out because you’re already at capacity?” McFarlane said.

Despite her arguments, council members Kay Crowder and Wayne Maiorano voted against the sidewalk rule changes. If the rules are working, there’s no need to revise them, Maiorano said.

“I fail to appreciate why we’d now take the guardrails down,” he said.

With its vote, the council also hired two inspectors to regulate the outdoor seating while wearing plain clothes. Business owners said customers sometimes left when inspectors showed up accompanied by police officers.

And more changes are coming. The council instructed the Appearance Commission to create rules governing how businesses separate their dining space from the walking path.

There are no clear guidelines. Some businesses have used rope; some have used stanchions, and some have marked their area with duct tape.

As a result, Fayetteville Street at times has looked like a flea market, Councilman Russ Stephenson said recently. Customers don’t like it either, said Vincent Whitehurst, co-owner of Foundation, a bar on Fayetteville Street.

“People don’t like to feel like they’re in a little pen,” Whitehurst said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Raleigh lessens blow on downtown businesses."