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Cotuit

By Cotuit
in Providence

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ruchele Hamlet

ruchele

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That's the funny thing about the internet, people often take a persons post or position the wrong way which may lead to a deletion or edit by a moderator, or even worst, a suspension, warn or expulsion which may not be entirely fair. Adding a emoticon can save the day. ^_^ But look at TheAnk. We all know him, so we can usually determine the point that he's trying to get across to us even if he doesn't use emoticons. I'm active in a sports forum and the moderator is often at odds with posters because she comes across as being mean and nasty when she claims that she is not like that at all. People misunderstand her. Probably because the board doesn't have any emoticon at all, except for :).
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basachs Burg

basachs

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Many of you may have noticed that none of the restaurants on Broadway have outdoor seating so far this year. This is because the inspector has been cracking down and requiring each establishment to get a zoning variance. Broadway is zoned Residential-Professional so technically this is valid. However, for years the city has looked the other way, allowing the establishments to get an expansion permit for outdoor seating. This year seemed no different until the establishments started putting out the seats and were told to get rid of them. With ever increasing food costs, the loss of revenue from this outdoor seating plus the costs of getting a zoning variance threaten the economic viability of our beloved neighborhood establishments. Not too mention the loss of vibrancy and "eyes on the street" that outdoor seating brings.

Solutions are being worked on, but these businesses need to be able to open outdoors tmw, not weeks or months from now. The WBNA recently sent out an email to all members asking them to call the Mayor and Councilman Lombardi to let them know they support outdoor seating and stress the urgency for a solution to be worked out. Copying the email with contact numbers:

Support our LOCAL Restaurants and Businesses! Support Outdoor Seating on Broadway!

A vibrant and active "Main Street" with restaurants, shops, and people strolling, shopping, working, living and eating is one of the things that makes a great neighborhood.

Broadway is a special place because you can eat outside at Julian's, Nicks on Broadway, Seven Stars Bakery and at Broadway Bistro. Recently, the city has been preventing these restaurants from having their outdoor seating. During these times of record food price increases, our neighborhood establishments face serious economic pressures. Outdoor seating not only provides the neighborhood with vibrancy and "eyes on the street" but also helps these establishments remain economically viable and continue to serve our community.

WBNA asks you to help us help our local businesses by calling the Mayor at 421-7740 and Councilman John Lombardi at 453-3900 and asking them to work with us to return outdoor seating to our Broadway restaurants ASAP.

Thanks!

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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that sucks. how hard is it to get one of these variances? and why can't it just be a permit or something?

what i wish is that they'd crack down on atwells and require those restaurants to get a permit. it's annoying having to walk in the street to avoid tables and the valet signs in front of every restaurant.

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basachs Burg

basachs

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that sucks. how hard is it to get one of these variances? and why can't it just be a permit or something?

what i wish is that they'd crack down on atwells and require those restaurants to get a permit. it's annoying having to walk in the street to avoid tables and the valet signs in front of every restaurant.

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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Its not incredibly hard, but it takes time and money. You have to get surveyor to survey the property, filing fees and all that. A couple of business owners I have spoken to that have done it say the cost is anywhere from 3-5k. Thats a lot for businesses to shoulder. But the real killer is of course time. Every nice day without outdoor seating is a loss of revenue.

All of the restaurants get permits. If you check any of the public notices for the Board Of License meetings you can see a flurry of expansion permit applications for all restaurants in the city in the past few months. Atwells included. ITs zoned for it, and they get a permit, so there is nothing to really crackdown on...

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TheAnk Hamlet

TheAnk

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that sucks. how hard is it to get one of these variances? and why can't it just be a permit or something?

what i wish is that they'd crack down on atwells and require those restaurants to get a permit. it's annoying having to walk in the street to avoid tables and the valet signs in front of every restaurant.

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runawayjim Metropolis

runawayjim

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I will call Lombardi.. Some good done by the WBNA, and IN THEIR OWN area!! Good times, Ank Seal of Approval..

Yeah why does Atwells get to do whatever they want yet Broadway, a far ah broader street with less congestion get the screws put to the businesses?

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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The Mayor could if he so chose I assume issue an executive order allowing any restaurant that had outdoor seating last year to continue while they get their permits in order. I do however think it is important for them to go through the process, the Atwells example points to why. Businesses shouldn't be allowed to put chairs wherever they want, the sidewalks are a public right of way, they need to ensure that wheelchair access is free and easy, that hydrants aren't blocked, that pedestrians have clear lines of site to cross streets, etc.

But here's the thing, did we not go through this last year citywide? Do the restaurants need to go through the entire process every year or did these establishments simply not do it last year since they weren't bothered about it?

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basachs Burg

basachs

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so the buildings that the restaurants on broadway are in are zoned as residential/professional and not as restaurants? that's just odd.

perhaps the zoning of broadway should be changed to reflect what it is and not what it was.

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