Latest On Outdoor Dining 'Parklets' Closure In Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The Long Term Business Solutions Ad Hoc committee will meet today [Monday, Jan. 18] to learn about the latest statistics and issues regarding the recent closure of the public outdoor dining "parklets", Manhattan Beach City Council member Steve Napolitano told Manhattan Beach Patch.

The committee shut down the public dining "parklets" on Sunday, Jan. 3 at 10 p.m. due to the rising numbers of cases of COVID-19 in Manhattan Beach and Los Angeles County. Manhattan Beach City Council members Richard Montgomery and Napolitano serve as the two council representatives [they were appointed by the mayor] on the committee and are authorized to make decisions related to the impacts of the Novel Coronavirus on businesses in Manhattan Beach. The same committee [when then City Council member Nancy Hersman and Napolitano served on the committee] created the workaround to LA County's directive to shut down outdoor dining at 10 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving in 2020 that enabled restaurants using public right-of-ways for outdoor dining to continue to do so.

Downtown Manhattan Beach restaurant owners frequently make public comment during city council meetings, repeatedly imploring them to offer most anything they can to help restaurant owners and workers. The latest effort is a survey from the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business + Professional Association that poses a set of questions to community members about whether or not they want outdoor dining presently to exist, and if so, what mechanisms they would be comfortable with having in place to assuage community outcry over lack of social distancing, groups gathering who are not members of the same household, and the consumption of alcohol on the public outdoor dining "parklets".

Said Napolitano, "Petitions and surveys are as good as the questions they ask. We knew that people liked the parklettes before we closed them down, so asking people if they want them to open again is like asking a kid if they want a pony—it doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Safety doesn't win popularity contests, and I get that. I get emails every day on both sides of this issue.

"We're looking for some stabilization in our numbers and better rules and enforcement to be in place before opening them again. We're well aware that other cities have adopted our model too, but they're not getting letters from the County like we are either. We were a victim of our own success and the fact that some of the same folks who think they don't have to follow the rules can do whatever they wanted in the parklettes too. It was a bad combo that we're working on now to fix."

Said Montgomery, "I was pretty clear last week. We swore an oath that public safety is our number one priority. With new COVID cases skyrocketing in MB along with two additional COVID-related deaths in the past week, the surge is far from over.nWe all want our businesses citywide to survive the pandemic, and we to reopen the 'parklets' as soon as possible. But in doing so we cannot turn a blind eye to protecting the public.

"I am not a big fan of 'blind surveys'. How many of the survey takers are MB residents? How many of them are aware of the latest COVID statistics including deaths? How often do they order meals out from our restaurants? Where do you order meals from ( Downtown or North End or Rosecrans or Aviation)? Do you purchase gift cards from these restaurants? Have you been vaccinated yet ? Are you in favor of everyone being vaccinated? These are the questions I would ask in a more balanced survey," said Montgomery.