An image of From the Boot outdoor dining on York Street taken on Aug. 15, 2020 during Ambler Restaurant Week. (Credit: Ambler Borough Council Vice President Haley Welch / Facebook)
Ambler Borough Council held their April meeting on Tuesday night, and the majority of the discussion was centered on whether or not to allow From the Boot to close York Street for outdoor dining in the coming months.
Earlier this month, the borough’s public safety committee discussed the request from owner Bob Devine to close the street from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the weekends and to allow a maximum of 48 seats for outdoor dining during “warmer months.” Council was expected to vote on the request Tuesday evening, but a 50-minute discussion about the request ultimately ended with the agenda item being tabled and kicked back to committee.
“The borough seems to have a shortcoming, where we don’t necessarily have a policy on what to do when these types of requests come in,” said Councilman Louis Orehek. “With that, we’re looking to grant or deny based on a lack of a policy.”
Orehek said there was precedent to close the street for outdoor dining over the last three years, but added a policy or ordinance should be crafted to help guide those requests.
“My own opinion would be to allow [Bob] the street closure, [but] instead of the 81 times he’s requested, to reduce that down to 24, which essentially comes down to Memorial Day to Labor Day, Saturdays and Sundays,” Orehek said.
Councilwoman Nancy Roecker Coates, who serves on the public safety committee with Orehek and committee chair Amy Hughes, voiced opposition to the request, stating road closures for outdoor dining were a necessity to aid businesses during Covid, but now that the emergency declarations have expired, it’s unnecessary and presents traffic issues.
“I think closing that road causes a problem,” said Roecker Coates. “It causes a burden to our residents, who expect to be able to use that road the way it was intended.”
Additional concerns raised by several residents and officials centered on public safety, the legality of free use of public space for private profit, and potential issues that could arise when other businesses ask to close their streets.
Hughes said she opposed the request as it stands, but added she was open to a compromise, stating, “If it was two weekends a month, or one weekend a month…if he wants to rent that space, I could get behind something like that.”
She also countered the assertion that the end of the pandemic should result in things going back to “normal.”
“Covid may have gone away, but it changed the landscape of things greatly,” Hughes said. “I think the normal that existed before Covid is not necessarily the normal that we live in today.”
Council also heard from Bob King, president of Ambler Main Street, who voiced his support for the closure, adding that it was not a zero-sum game and borough restaurant owners didn’t object to the request being granted.
“You have a circumstance here where you have a unique setup: one restaurant has an opportunity to have some dining outside,” King said. “It’s not going to cost you anything — doesn’t cost you a dime of borough money. Barricades are there, the restaurant sets them up; it’s not like the music fest or whatever.”
At the conclusion of the discussion, Hughes took an informal poll of council, with two of the nine members saying they were firmly opposed to the request in its entirety. Several others said they opposed the request as it was submitted but would be in favor if the request was adjusted and the frequency of days reduced.
The discussion was ultimately tabled to the next public safety committee meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. on May 7 at Ambler Borough Hall.
