By Brian Trompeter
Outdoor dining in parking areas became a viable – and popular – option thanks to emergency measures passed during the pandemic, and Fairfax County officials now are crafting a zoning-ordinance amendment to keep that trend going.
“Outdoor dining is a lot more popular now than it ever was before the pandemic,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D) during the April 25 meeting of the board’s Land-Use Policy Committee. “It has not brought on the harm or concerns that I think maybe we might have thought about when we originally wrote restrictions on outdoor dining.”
County officials during the pandemic allowed existing restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, micro-breweries, distilleries, wineries and tasting rooms to set up outdoor seating without any individual approval. Those provisions will end in March 2024, following a one-year grace period after the Board of Supervisors declared an end to the COVID emergency.
The proposed zoning amendment would allow outdoor dining in all zoning districts, unless prohibited by proffers or other specific conditions.
“Since the adoption of the emergency ordinance, relatively few complaints have been received regarding outdoor operations, and staff believes this simplified approach will allow continuation of the outdoor-dining experience for both customers and establishments,” said Lily Yegazu, principal planner with the Zoning Administration Division.
Current county zoning rules regard outdoor dining as a by-right accessory use in areas allowing restaurants and craft-beer-production establishments.
Officials now are proposing to redefine outdoor dining and allow it as an accessory use for restaurants and similar operations with food-establishment permits, but not permit any permanent structures in the outdoor-seating areas. Any tents, tables, chairs, lighting, umbrellas and other accessories would need to be removable and have a well-maintained appearance, Yegazu said.
All such dining areas would need to be marked off by ropes, bollards, planters or other objects; be sited on impervious surfaces; and not obstruct access by pedestrians or, in emergencies, by the fire marshal.
The code now exempts part of outdoor seating from parking requirements, but mandates parking for eating establishments with 5,000 square feet or more of space.
The proposed amendment does not call for any additional parking for outdoor dining, which would be permitted by-right on sidewalks and patios. Staff members recommended limiting the outdoor-dining area to no more than 50 percent of the establishment’s indoor-dining space, but gave supervisors a possible range of between 25 and 75 percent.
Hours of operation likely will be an important point, as noise from customers’ conversations could vex neighbors. County staff recommended allowing outdoor dining within an eating establishment’s regular business hours, but not before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m. if the eatery is directly next to a single-family residential area. Staff suggested supervisors also could set the morning start time at 9 a.m. instead.
Restaurants hoping to have outdoor dining in parking areas would need to pay a one-time application fee (staff recommended the higher end of a range between $100 and $205) and not reduce the establishment’s parking below the county’s required minimum.
While the one-time permits generally would apply to specific restaurants and need to be reapplied for if the locations changed ownership, McKay suggested county officials might consider a permit application that could apply to property owners providing communal outdoor-dining areas for several food establishments. That permit could run with the owner and not apply to specific tenants, he said.
Zoning Administrator Leslie Johnson clarified officials only were considering permits for dining establishments wishing to provide outdoor seating in parking areas.
County officials will share the proposed standards with restaurateurs, food-and-beverage operators and owners of shopping centers, then hold public-outreach meetings in the spring and summer. Public hearings and possible authorization by the Board of Supervisors would occur in the summer or fall.
