CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — By Labor Day, the parklets that line some of the streets in downtown Chula Vista may be gone, but some business owners say they’re committed to taking this fight to City Hall.
Kevin Lewis says brewing beer isn’t just his passion, it’s his livelihood.
As one of the owner’s of 3 Punk Ales in Chula Vista, he says through they years they’ve learned to navigate through challenges by adapting.
It’s what they did during the pandemic building parklets to offer outdoor dining. An idea that’s stuck around.
Lewis says, “It's San Diego, it's Chula Vista, it's 76 degrees out it's sunny and beautiful. Who doesn't want to be out.”
And Lewis believes this addition has kept their doors open.
Lewis says, “ This creates a space where we aren't just stuck with the 38 people we can create more space, generate more economy right now, because everyone needs more people more money.”
But come Labor Day, these parklets are scheduled to go away. The City of Chula Vista is calling for the removal of outdoor dining structures.
Lewis says they received a notice from the City Manager informing them the parklets have to go, because it was part of a temporary initiative during the pandemic.
Lewis says they’ve reached out to City Officials to try and change their minds, but the only action they’ve gotten is the council agreeing to create a new subcommittee looking at the future of parklets.
During Tuesday night's city council meeting, the Chula Vista council members unanimously approved the creation of this new subcommittee.
But, Lewis worries this action isn’t enough to keep the parklets up right now. He adds, “Hopefully we can keep them while we talk policy about them. Maybe some need to be shrunk down. We’re willing to do what we can to keep these.”
