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Home My Public Portal About2020_07_14_R074 Temporary Outdoor Dining During the COVID-19 Pandemic The Town of Leesburg, Virginia PRESENTED: July 14, 2020 RESOLUTION NO. 2020-074 ADOPTED: July 14, 2020 A RESOLUTION: EXTENDING AND CLARIFYING TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS OF ZONING ORDINANCE REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY OUTDOOR DINING AREAS FOR EATING ESTABLISHMENTS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WHEREAS, May 26, 2020, by Resolution No. 2020-067, Council adopted certain temporary modifications to the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance provisions regulating outdoor dining areas for eating establishments in order to promote social distancing during Phase 1 recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic (the "Pandemic"); and WHEREAS, the Governor of Virginia has subsequently issued guidelines for Phase 2 and Phase 3 recovery from the Pandemic; and WHEREAS, the Governor's directives will continue to evolve to meet the public health needs of the Commonwealth in light of then-prevailing conditions associated with the Pandemic; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that some restrictions will remain in place for restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, and tasting rooms ("Eating Establishments") for the duration of the public health emergency created by the Pandemic; and WHEREAS, it is reasonably foreseeable that before the public health crisis has fully resolved, there may be periods of relaxed restrictions on Eating Establishments and periods of tightened restrictions, as necessary to respond to prevailing conditions associated with the Pandemic at any given time; and -2- A RESOLUTION: EXTENDING AND CLARIFYING TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS OF ZONING ORDINANCE REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY OUTDOOR DINING AREAS FOR EATING ESTABLISHMENTS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WHEREAS, the Town of Leesburg in Virginia continues to seek to be proactive in providing economic support the business community within the Town by allowing Eating Establishments to take advantage of opportunities to promote Temporary Outdoor Dining Areas; and WHEREAS,the Town of Leesburg Continuity of Government Ordinance adopted April 3, 2020, authorizes the Town Manager and the Town Council to take certain temporary actions to address the coronavirus emergency, including action to: waive or reduce fees;waive enforcement, in whole or in part, of any Town Ordinance; modify, limit, waive, suspend, or amend any Town program, service, function, process, or procedure deemed non-essential; and WHEREAS,the restrictions imposed by the Governor for Phase 3 recovery do not include a specific capacity restriction on indoor dining, but do continue to impose social distancing restrictions with the effect of reducing indoor dining capacity; and WHEREAS, the Town Council has determined that the temporary measures adopted by Resolution No. 2020-067 will continue to serve the public necessity, convenience, general welfare and good zoning practice for multiple phases of recovery from the Pandemic, and until such time as Eating Establishments are permitted to operate without reduction in indoor dining capacity due to social distancing restrictions; and WHEREAS, the Town Council wishes to extend and clarify the application of the temporary modifications to the Town of Leesburg zoning ordinance regulations adopted by Resolution No. 2020-067. -3- A RESOLUTION: EXTENDING AND CLARIFYING TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS OF ZONING ORDINANCE REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY OUTDOOR DINING AREAS FOR EATING ESTABLISHMENTS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC THEREFORE, RESOLVED, by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia that the following temporary use conditions shall apply to Temporary Outdoor Dining Areas: 1. Applicability: A Temporary Use Permit may be issued only to existing Eating Establishments to permit a Temporary Outdoor Dining Area for which no Zoning Permit has been issued as required in Zoning Ordinance Section 3.7.1 (When Permits Required). 2. Application Form: Temporary Outdoor Dining Areas shall be subject to a Temporary Use Permit and Use Exhibit. 3. Application Fees: There are no application fees for this Temporary Use Permit application. 4. Use Exhibit: The Use Exhibit (the "Exhibit") shall demonstrate the following: a. Use Limitations: The seating capacity of a Temporary Outdoor Dining Area shall be limited to no more than 50% of the occupancy load on the Certificate of Occupancy, while maintaining a minimum of six feet of physical distancing between tables. A photocopy or photo of the Occupancy Certificate depicting the occupancy load shall be included with the Temporary Use Permit Application. b. Location Requirements: A Temporary Outdoor Dining Area must be located on existing hard surfaces, and shall not consume more than 50% of existing on-site parking facilities as qualified below. c. Seating Diagram: The Exhibit shall include a diagram that depicts the arrangement of tables and the number of associated seats. d. Parking Requirements: In lieu of the parking requirements of Zoning Ordinance Section 11.3 (Number of Parking Spaces Required), parking for a Temporary Outdoor Dining Area shall be based on the number of proposed outdoor seats at a ratio of one (1) space for every four (4) seats. The Exhibit shall include the calculation of the maximum number of seats and the resulting required parking spaces. However, a Temporary Outdoor Dining Area zoned B-1/H-1 is exempt from this requirement. e. Parking Provided: If applicable,the Exhibit shall demonstrate how required parking for Temporary Outdoor Dining Areas is provided on-site.Existing ADA spaces and -4- A RESOLUTION: EXTENDING AND CLARIFYING TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS OF ZONING ORDINANCE REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY OUTDOOR DINING AREAS FOR EATING ESTABLISHMENTS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC access aisles shall be maintained. Temporary Shared Parking Agreements (the "Agreement") may be used to satisfy required outdoor seating parking. The Agreement must be in the form of a notarized document between property owners, and shall be provided with the Temporary Use Permit application. f. Emergency Access: The Exhibit shall demonstrate that appropriate fire and emergency access is maintained. g. Tents: The use of tents is permitted, but shall be limited to one (1)tent of less than 900 square feet; tents may not have sides. Tents shall be depicted on the Exhibit. 5. ADA Compliance: It is the applicant's responsibility to comply with all applicable ADA requirements. 6. Beverage Control: Temporary Outdoor Dining Areas shall be subject to applicable Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations. 7. Noise Ordinance: Temporary Outdoor Dining Areas shall be subject to the Town Noise Ordinance. 8. Compliance with Executive Orders: The holder of a Temporary Use Permit must comply at all times with all applicable Executive Orders of the Governor of Virginia, whether issued before or after issuance of the Temporary Use Permit, as they may be amended by the Governor from time to time. In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Temporary Use Permit and the terms of any applicable Executive Order,the Executive Order shall control. 9. Enforcement: It is the applicant's responsibility to comply with the Temporary Use Permit's conditions of approval.Noncompliance with the conditions of approval shall be enforced through Zoning Ordinance Article 17 (Enforcement and Penalties). and be it further RESOLVED,that applicable requirements of the Zoning Ordinance and of all applicable Town ordinances are waived or modified only to the limited extent described in this resolution, and shall remain in full force and effect in all other respects; and be it further RESOLVED, that these revised temporary use conditions shall become effective immediately; and be it further -5- A RESOLUTION: EXTENDING AND CLARIFYING TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS OF ZONING ORDINANCE REGULATIONS FOR TEMPORARY OUTDOOR DINING AREAS FOR EATING ESTABLISHMENTS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESOLVED, that all Temporary Use Permits issued pursuant to Resolution 2020-067 shall remain in effect and shall be subject to the provisions of this resolution; and be it further RESOLVED,that these temporary use conditions,and all issued Temporary Use Permits, shall be automatically suspended without further action by the Council in the event that an Executive Order is issued by the Governor which requires a return to Phase zero, or otherwise prohibits outdoor dining in the Town of Leesburg as described in this resolution. Such suspension shall continue for the duration of the prohibition unless otherwise modified by the Town Council; and be it further RESOLVED,that these temporary use conditions,and all issued Temporary Use Permits, shall be automatically suspended without further action by the Council on the effective date of any applicable Executive Order of the Governor which permits the resumption of indoor dining at full capacity and without social distancing restrictions; and be it further RESOLVED,that these temporary use conditions and all issued Temporary Use Permits shall expire upon the earliest of the following occurrences: (1) expiration of the Continuity of Government Ordinance or its earlier repeal by the Town Council; or(2) repeal of these temporary use conditions by Council. PASSED this 14t day of July, 2020. 2CitA-./(C g Kelly urayor Town of Leesburg ATTEST: (*-42fe-eee-foe.-a 4e4r-oe:-.6) Clerk of Council LF\LeesburgRMS\Town_Clerk\Resolutions\2020\0714 Temporary Outdoor Dining During the COVID-19 Pandemic