Retail committee recommends California Avenue outdoor-activation guidelines, asks council to weigh fees and public restrooms

The Palo Alto Retail Committee on May 21 recommended to the City Council a package of draft outdoor-activation guidelines for California Avenue that would formalize how restaurants and merchants can use the car-free street for outdoor dining, merchandising and events.

The recommendation — which the committee framed as a way to convert temporary pandemic-era dining into a more durable, flexible pedestrian mall — directs staff to present the item to the City Council on June 9 and asked staff to return with unified fee recommendations and options for public restrooms and for reviewing an entertainment-zone approach to alcohol rules. The committee vote was recorded as two yeses and one absence.

The guidelines presented by Bruce Fakuji of the City Manager’s Office lay out a two-part approach: (1) design and permitting rules for “outdoor activation” that differ from the city’s existing parklet program downtown, and (2) a near-term street-design and programming plan to preserve flexibility for market stalls, emergency access and bicycle passage. “This is what we’re calling outdoor activation,” Fakuji told the committee, adding that the goal is to allow businesses to occupy the public right-of-way in ways that are safe, accessible and economical for merchants.

Why it matters: California Avenue has operated as a de facto car-free corridor for community events and dining since temporary closures during the pandemic. Committee members and staff said the guidelines are intended to encourage longer-term private investment and to reduce the ad-hoc tent-and-barricade look that some merchants have used while preserving space for the farmers market, Third Thursday events and emergency access.

Key provisions and limits - Required planters and setbacks: The draft requires planters at the front of permitted activation areas; planters should sit roughly perpendicular to the walking direction and at least 25% of planting should face the central accessway. Planters are intended to define seating without the…