The number of outdoor dining parklets that remain noncompliant with the city’s new stormwater runoff requirements continues to dwindle.
City staff conducted their latest inspection of the delinquent parklets last Wednesday, and found the number that remained noncompliant had been more than cut in half.
Of the 15 delinquent parklets that remained, “nine either made the required changes or removed their facilities,” Sarah Clark, the city’s downtown plaza parking manager, told the News-Press Tuesday. “Six remain noncompliant.”
Ms. Clark said the six remaining delinquent parklets will receive administrative citations, which carry a $100 fine.
The next round of inspections “will be scheduled once we’ve sent the citations,” she said.
Any of the six that receive two citations and still don’t make the required changes will be ordered to remove their parklets, she said.
And if they refuse?
“The city will remove the facilities at the business owner’s expense,” Ms. Clark said.
The city set a Dec. 1, 2022, deadline for the city’s 50 parklets on lower State Street to be modified to allow for stormwater runoff to be able to flow freely around or beneath them. City officials were concerned that the parklets might block rainwater from flowing down State Street, resulting in flooded sidewalks and storefronts.
To date, that has not happened, despite a series of winter storms that have dumped several inches of rain on city streets.
The first round of inspections revealed only 17 of the 50 parklets between the 400 and 1300 blocks of State Street had made the adjustments. A second round showed 12 parklets were noncompliant, with four more left to be inspected. Three of those four remained delinquent, bringing the total to 15.
In most cases, restaurants have cut drainage channels, using a steel diamond plate to bridge the gap. Others have pulled their parklets away from the curb and made them more narrow. A few have removed platforms and switched to portable, at-grade designs.
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