Alfresco Alarm

A proposal being worked on by East Hampton Town officials to clarify the law on outdoor seating at restaurants has caused confusion. The misunderstanding seems to have come from those who are unfamiliar with how the process of revising the town code works and who misread a draft described at a May 2 town board meeting by NancyLynn Thiele, a town attorney, which had been circulated to stimulate discussion. Steve Haweeli, the president of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, has been sounding the alarm and has urged restaurant owners and their staffs to attend a June 1 hearing.

The draft repeats a provision in the current law that allows up to 30 percent of a restaurant’s seating capacity to be outside, pending an okay from the fire marshal’s office. The change proposed is to set up a process by which restaurants could have even more seating outdoors by obtaining site plan approval from the planning board and meeting County Health Department and parking requirements.

That said, the town really did blow the roll-out. For example, a section about waiting areas for restaurant patrons was ambiguous and led to un-called-for panic even though the intent behind it was sensible. Also, the attorneys should have circulated a draft early on to the town business committee, whose members might have noticed this and made other valuable suggestions. 

Contrary to the assumption of the worst, the draft is actually intended as an orderly way for restaurants to gain outdoor tables and chairs. There is plenty of time for restaurant owners to get their views heard, beginning at the June 1 hearing. In the meantime, those who would be affected by changes in the law should take a more careful look at what Ms. Thiele had to say.