SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The cities of Escondido and La Mesa are taking measures to help restaurants expand outdoor dining after a rollback of indoor dining in the county due to surging coronavirus cases.
Starting Friday, Escondido will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction on Grand Avenue, between Maple Street and Juniper St., to allow restaurants to expand temporary outdoor seating. One lane will be reserved for parking.
The city says it's also making other moves to help restaurants, including:
- Providing temporary barriers to restaurants for safety;
- Downtown Business Association has committed $10,000 for shade coverings, tables, and chairs to support this effort, streamlined permitting processes for restaurants, and will reimburse businesses the $100 Alcohol Beverage Control permit fee to allow them to serve alcohol outside;
- City is working on the Business Recovery Temporary Use Permit for Escondido businesses.
RELATED:
In La Mesa, an executive order was issued Thursday to temporarily allow the use of public and private outdoor areas by restaurants for dining, with approval of the city's Director of Community Development.
The city says it's also not charging fees or requiring permits for businesses that have permission to use public and private outdoor areas for dining.
The moves come after indoor dining was suspended this week at restaurants throughout San Diego County, after the county was placed on California's County Monitoring List due to surging coronavirus cases.
