Encinitas City Council To Increase Restaurants' Outdoor Dining Right-Of-Way Usage Fee

ENCINITAS, CA — The City of Encinitas is expected to approve an increase to the outdoor dining right-of-way fee from $2.50 to $2.58, according to the city council's consent calendar at the Sept. 17 council session.

The increase in the charge will start July 1, 2026, according to the city's resolution documents, and would amount to an additional $6,000 in the city's General Fund revenue. According to the city, the outdoor dining right-of-way usage fee applies only to those outdoor dining establishments occupying the City's public parking right-of-way, not those occupying private property or sidewalk cafes.

"As of the preparation of this report, there are 18 existing outdoor dining establishments citywide that occupy 47 total public parking spaces," the documents prepared for the city council state. "Of those, 14 establishments are located in Downtown Encinitas, which occupies 39 public parking spaces, and four establishments are located in Leucadia, occupying eight public parking spaces."

On June 12, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2024-64 to implement an outdoor dining right-of-way usage fee of $2.50 per square foot per month, to be charged on an annual basis and to increase annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. This fee is only applicable to outdoor dining establishments occupying the City's public parking right-of-way. The right-of-way usage fee went into effect on August 1, 2024.

The document, prepared by Encinitas's Senior Planner in the Development Services Department, states that the increase is based on the average Consumer Price Index, with adjustments from 2024 for the San Diego Region.

The fees were originally implemented in August of 2024. The estimated Fiscal Year 2024-25 General Fund fee revenue collected from outdoor dining establishments citywide totals approximately $209,000.

With the recommended adjustment, following the 2024 CPI for the San Diego Region at 3.1 percent, the new projected annual revenue from outdoor dining would increase by approximately $6,000 during Fiscal Year 2025-26 if all establishments continue at their current operational footprint, according to the documents. The total would be approximately $215,000 in total.

All outdoor dining must be approved by the city, which has strict street encroachment checklists.

Council will vote on the consent calendar item at the Sept. 17 meeting.