MONTEREY — Hit with a public complaint that continued outdoor dining on Fisherman’s Wharf renders little space for walking, the California Coastal Commission is looking to streamline seating to its standards with proper permitting or otherwise, removal.
Per a letter issued from the city of Monterey to businesses Tuesday, restaurants have until the end of the year to secure coastal development permits for their outdoor additions from the Coastal Commission. The interlude gives establishments time to apply for and acquire permits without facing immediate expiration.
It’s a welcomed allowance after days of unease, as initial communication from the city originally sought clearance by next Monday – an order it has since rescinded.
On May 2, restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf received a hand-delivered letter with a warning from Monterey Community Development Director Kimberly Cole. It requested the removal of all outdoor seating added to the wharf without permission from the Coastal Commission – whether put in place to alleviate pandemic pressure or established well ahead of 2020 – in two weeks.
The letter left restaurateurs shocked, confused and scrambling for answers.
“We’ve never had a problem,” explained Dominic Mercurio, owner of Cafe Fina and Domenico’s on the Wharf, adding that he’s had outdoor seating at his restaurants for nearly 15 years.
While active oversight from the Coastal Commission is new, the requirement of a coastal development permit for outdoor dining on Fisherman’s Wharf is not. Well within California’s protected Coastal Zone, any construction – or changes in the intensity of use of land or water– on the wharf necessitates discretionary approval. The addition of outdoor seating is a qualifying development.
Ellie Oliver, Central Coast enforcement officer for the Coastal Commission, explained that some restaurants possibly have coastal development permits for outdoor dining defined within their leases. Still, for others with seating in the public right of way without a go-ahead from the Commission, “it was a violation then as it is now,” Oliver said.
“It either was never reported to us or it just wasn’t an enforcement priority for us in the past,” Oliver said, referring to all unpermitted outdoor seating, whether installed due to COVID-19 or not.
Oliver added that as a pandemic response, many jurisdictions across the state applied for and were granted waivers from the Coastal Commission to temporarily authorize outdoor dining programs and other pandemic-related emergency measures. Those waivers for outdoor dining were extended until December 2023 by last year’s Assembly Bill 61. No waiver applies to the wharf, and therefore any such outdoor dining there that wasn’t already authorized by a coastal development permit is unwarranted.
Meanwhile, Cafe Fina, which has been a staple of the wharf since 1958, first added outdoor seating in 2008. At the time, Mercurio recalled only needing approval from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Monterey City Council to successfully expand his restaurant to the public right of way.
“We just went through the council and that was about it,” said Mercurio. “I had to get some things approved for the way it looked but there was never any word about a permit from the Coastal Commission.”
In recent months, a keener eye from the Coastal Commission surfaced in the wake of discontent from a member of the community, who contacted Oliver with their concerns. The issues brought forward proved to flag Commission attention, prompting Oliver to approach the city of Monterey with suggestions for a solution.
“Removal or permitting will need to occur for all such restaurants on the Coastal Zone, but we are particularly concerned with the conditions on Fisherman’s Wharf, where the seating takes significant space from the public walkways (essentially privatizing them), impacts the character of the wharf, and impacts the ability of the public to visit, navigate, and enjoy this unique place,” Oliver wrote in an email to Cole and Monterey Property Manager Janna Aldrete on April 26. “The photos we were sent… are fairly concerning.”
Two days after her initial email notifying the city, Oliver noted in a follow-up message that she “just wanted to reach out now to start this discussion amicably and well ahead of any formal enforcement proceedings.”
Referencing the email correspondence with Oliver and the Coastal Commission, Cole later said she interpreted the message as direction to remove unpermitted seating “as soon as possible.” With this, ultimately misunderstood, urgency in mind, Cole set and communicated a May 16 deadline for removal to restaurants.
Upon further communication with the Commission this week, however, Cole revised previous guidance.
“It’s good to know we’re going to extend the deadline,” Cole told the Herald Monday evening.
Earlier Monday morning, Oliver said the Commission “is not looking to start prioritizing enforcement” but hopes to begin “moving everyone towards compliance.”
Motivated by the previously short window to comply, some establishments are already laying the groundwork to secure permits. Mercurio, as well as other restaurant owners on the wharf such as Chris Shake, said they have hired architects to determine the next steps in the permitting process.
The good news? Outdoor dining can stay as they apply. Or at least through the end of the year.
“If the Coastal Commission (wants) some type of permit, we’ll apply,” Mercurio assured.