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Charles Town committee weighs outdoor dining amid ADA, liability and alcohol questions
Summary
An ordinance committee in Charles Town reviewed whether to permit outdoor dining downtown, raising questions about sidewalk width, ADA egress, liability if vehicles breach barriers, and whether state alcohol rules require local enabling legislation.
Committee members and staff spent the meeting reviewing a referral to update the town's outdoor-dining rules and identifying legal and safety questions that must be answered before a policy can be recommended to council. Staff flagged that many downtown sidewalks are not wide enough to meet code for safe outdoor dining and that some streets are state-owned, which limits what the town can do without state approval.
"There has to be an enabling legislation from us that permits outdoor dining," a staff member said when summarizing state Alcoholic Beverage Control guidance and the need for local authorization. Members also raised ADA-compliance and liability concerns if a vehicle were to breach a dining barrier: one committee member asked whether the city could be held responsible if a car plowed through a protected area and injured someone.
Members discussed narrower options — limiting outdoor dining to specific districts such as the Depot area or parts of Main Street with wider sidewalks — and the need to invite the police chief for a safety evaluation at a future meeting. Staff was tasked with researching state codes, ABC rules, and whether prior COVID-era exceptions applied in other jurisdictions, then returning with recommendations and draft ordinance language.
