Despite previous confusion around outdoor dining in Belmont, at least one business has received approval for its outdoor dining plans on Leonard Street.
This past week, The Wellington was approved for outdoor dining with a total of 18 seats for guests.
“We hadn’t been enforcing the [current] policy, so congratulations on being the first ones to come forward,” Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne said to owners Dante and Filippo deMagistris.
Last month, Chair Matt Taylor told board members that he had observed businesses using sidewalks for outdoor dining and retail without the proper town approval. In response, notices were sent to businesses, reminding them to submit applications for outdoor seating.
“I’d gone all over town looking at what our businesses were doing,” Taylor said. “There are a lot of chairs and tables on the sidewalks. I’ve also found three or four instances of outdoor retail; I’ve found every manner of placard signs or other things obstructing fire hydrants. … In this case, the owners of The Wellington did come forward and submit a request for outdoor dining under our 2017 version of the policy.”
According to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, the town has a policy on outdoor dining that was “pretty much put aside” during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that, the use of parking spaces was permitted. Once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, the town reverted to its old policy.
“One of the concerns coming out of the Select Board was people were operating as if it was still COVID and not recognizing they had to go back to the old way,” Garvin said.
Presently, there is no ability to request parking spaces for outdoor dining. Still, businesses are required to submit an outdoor dining application and $100 to the town for use of the public sidewalks for seating. Applications must be submitted 30 days in advance of outdoor dining season, which commences April 15 and ends Oct. 15.
Garvin explained that in some cases, outdoor dining is baked into the business’ special permit, or the common victualler’s license was attached to the Planning Board’s decision. Il Casale, also on Leonard Street, is among the businesses that fall under that umbrella, she said.
“I thought this was the street, [but] no, it’s sidewalk, which is great for streetscapes, for the vibrancy of the district,” Dionne said to the deMagistris. “And also we value both your restaurants and want them to succeed. I appreciate you working hard to get this done and complying.”
