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)
In April, From the Boot owner Bob Devine asked the Ambler Borough Council to bring back a feature that presented a lovely upside to a global pandemic: increased outdoor dining.
To do so, Devine asked the council if he might fence off portions of York Street during summer months to allow for more tables al fresco. But last week, Ambler Borough Solicitor Joe Bresnan said, after some investigation, the borough could not allow such a change.
“This was turned over to me to find out if it was permissible for From the Boot to rent a spot on York Street. I was forced to conclude that, no, we could not do that,” he said during last week’s Ambler Borough Public Safety Committee meeting.
Largely, the request was out of the borough’s hands.
“State law tells you what you are allowed to do locally with traffic, including road closures,” said Bresnan. “And, the state law says you can close them either to work on them, on the surface of them, or to clear an accident from them, or for special events.”
Bresnan said he even explored the unique request falling under “special events.”
“If you look under ‘special events,’ as it’s defined in other ordinances and the state law, a long-term rental to one business of a public street isn’t a special event,” he said. “A special event is usually a parade or car show, or usually something civic.”
Bresnan said a short-term event, such as a private Grand Opening, could be an exception, but most often must be something of a “civic” nature. In the case of From the Boot’s request, he said it would simply be a “business transaction.”
“It would be a long-term rental, and it does not support the definition of a special event,” said the solicitor. “It sounds like it was a very nice idea, and I think it is very well-intended and liked, but that is the law butting in, not us.”
Council Vice President Haley Welch thanked Bresnan for researching the subject, a sentiment echoed by other council members following his remarks.
A memo was issued to Devine notifying him of the denial.
The From the Boot owner had hoped to allow for outdoor dining beginning in May. The board reviewed both a May-starting option with 81 closure dates, and even suggested a shortened window of 24 dates from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Previously held informal polls of the borough’s council saw only two of the nine members opposed to the proposal. Several others had requested alterations to accommodate the concept, and even Ambler Main Street’s President Bob King voiced support for the idea in previous council meetings.
