Cary debates right‑of‑way rules as downtown outdoor dining, tents and a container bar expand footprint

The Village of Cary’s Committee of the Whole reviewed the village’s right‑of‑way rules on June 17 after downtown businesses added outdoor seating, canopies and a tented dining area that raised questions about use of public space, maintenance and equity among businesses.

Director Simmons summarized existing practices and agreements, explaining the village issues permits for work in the right of way and that certain encroachments — signs, canopies, outdoor dining adjacent to storefronts and small‑cell wireless facilities — are allowed with conditions such as insurance and maintenance responsibilities. Simmons described prior specific agreements, including a 2008 lease for a sign on Feinberg Drive and a 2024 agreement with a business (All 4 K9) allowing parking improvements in the right of way tied to a zoning variance.

Simmons said outdoor‑dining approvals typically require an initial plan showing furniture, placement and operations; the village does not usually require annual re‑submittals if the installation follows the approved plan. “For any area to have tables or furniture installed that would require approval for the Village the first year,” Simmons said. He added the village can require removal of outdoor dining if it determines a location is unsafe and that, in those cases, the village administrator may give three days’ notice for removal.

Trustees raised multiple concerns: whether private parking signs and newly paid parking in the downtown (private lots charging fees) appear to be village actions; whether a container bar that occupies village property is being charged a fair fee while other businesses using right‑of‑way are not; whether the tented dining area on Spring Street effectively expands a private business’s seating into public space; and who enforces maintenance such as trash, vegetation and sidewalk upkeep.

Trustee Collier and others asked whether staff-level approvals are sufficient for expanded or off‑premise uses; Simmons said outdoor‑dining layouts are currently approved by staff, though trustees asked staff to consider whether certain cases should be escalated to the board. Several trustees asked staff to contact downtown businesses and stakeholders and to return with options to make rules more consistent and equitable.

Simmons noted that some municipalities charge fees for encroachments but that Cary has generally not charged for public‑sidewalk dining; the board discussed whether some uses (for example, new business operations on village land) should instead be treated as leases and charged accordingly. The board asked staff to convene downtown businesses, review the outdoor‑dining regulations (last updated in 2019), and propose updates and outreach, particularly in light of pending downtown projects (Depot Plaza, Spring Street reconstruction) that staff said will change the downtown footprint next year.

No formal change to the code was made June 17; trustees requested further study and business outreach before returning to the board with proposals.