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Downtown board backs dining-deck ordinance with ADA rules and five-permit cap
Summary
The Downtown Management Board unanimously recommended that City Council adopt a dining-deck ordinance that preserves design standards, requires ADA and building-permit compliance, prioritizes existing decks and caps initial permits at five to limit parking impacts and preserve pedestrian access.
The Petoskey City Downtown Management Board voted unanimously Dec. 17 to recommend that City Council adopt an ordinance allowing dining decks in the downtown central business district, adding explicit ADA and building-permit requirements and limiting initial permits to five.
City staff had presented updates to the 2017 downtown sidewalk furnishings design guidelines and a draft ordinance intended to balance outdoor dining, pedestrian access and on-street parking. Amy, a city staff member who led the presentation, said the changes add a dedicated dining-deck column to the guidelines and aim “to provide a design context for furnishings placed in the public right of way,” while carrying over requirements on materials, scale and maintenance.
Under the draft ordinance the board recommended, dining decks would be limited to a single parking space per storefront, must comply with building permits, ADA rules and stormwater management so water can pass beneath the structure, and would follow specified material and railing standards. Staff told the board that historically the city’s annual resolution set expectations for outdoor dining, and the ordinance would codify those terms (installation between May 15 and Oct. 31 was discussed as the seasonal window).
On the motion to recommend the ordinance, Mr. Smith moved: “I move, that the DMV recommends to city council the approval of an ordinance to allow dining decks with the current resolution restrictions in addition, to the language specifying ADA requirement and with a 1st annual cap of 5 dining deck permits for the down the central business district.” Miss Bennett supported the motion and the board later clarified the cap as a continuing limit of five permits, not limited to 2025, and added priority for preexisting businesses that already operate dining decks with first-come/first-served thereafter.
Board members debated whether to limit dining decks to particular streets or let objective engineering and ADA compliance determine eligibility. Some members said ADA compliance and building-code requirements would effectively exclude sites that could not safely provide a passable sidewalk; others suggested a planning-based cap or distribution (for example, a small number per street) to protect parking for retailers during the city’s peak retail season.
The board recorded a roll-call vote in which all members present voted in favor. The board’s recommendation now goes to City Council for formal ordinance drafting and consideration; staff was directed to prepare the ordinance language based on the board’s direction.
What happens next: City staff will draft formal ordinance language reflecting the board’s motion and direction; the item will appear before City Council for committee review and eventual readings per the council’s calendar.
