City of Bend launches business sidewalk, street closure application process
Restaurants , other businesses have three options
(Update: Adding video, comments from downtown businesses; application site goes live)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The city of Bend late Thursday began accepting online applications by restaurants and other businesses seeking to expand seating to sidewalks and parking lots and possibly close off all or part of streets.
Restaurants will be able to apply for three options: a sidewalk café permit, a parking lot café permit or to have a street fully or partially closed. For example, a street may be closed between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
The restaurant 900 Wall in downtown Bend is one of the first restaurants to apply for a street closure.
Cliff Eslinger, the restaurant's executive chef, said he wants to shut down Minnesota Avenue, but he'll need the approval of neighboring businesses to do so.
“We started out with having half the retailers not at all interested in it or any aspect of the closure," Eslinger said. "After reaching out and speaking with all of them, we have all but one business on Minnesota that is supportive of some sort of closure, whether that’s full or partial.”
Eslinger also wants to add extended seating in front of his restaurant that could expand into some parking spots along Wall Street.
Ben Hemson, the city's business advocate, said there are three criteria businesses need to meet before being approved for any of the three options.
Restaurants would need approval from neighboring businesses to expand seating. They also must prove they can efficiently manage the space they are requesting to expand into, and the city has to have the right equipment (barricades and signs, etc.) in order to support restaurants, Hemson said.
Hemson added that businesses will most likely be approved for sidewalk and parking lot café epxansions within a few days or weeks, while street closure permits could take much longer.
The application and process was added to the city's reopening guidance page on Thursday at https://www.bendoregon.gov/business/reopening-guidance.
