On September 27, 2016, the Mayor and City Commission adopted the Ten Point Plan for Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th Streets (Resolution No. 2016-29590).
On October 14, 2016, the Mayor and City Commission adopted a Resolution approving Ocean Drive Sidewalk Café Design Guidelines (“Design Guidelines”). These guidelines are specific to all sidewalk café operations located on Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th Streets (Resolution No. 2016-29606).
On February 8, 2017, the Mayor and City Commission adopted a Resolution allowing the Historic Preservation Board to review and approve umbrella fabric colors not specifically listed in the Design Guidelines (Resolution No. 2017-29752).
The Design Guidelines require that, with limited exceptions, all sidewalk café elements including umbrellas, tables, chairs and menu boards, be moved to the western portion of the sidewalk, abutting each respective property. Specifically, the Design Guidelines contain an exception (which was recommended in the Ten Point Plan), allowing for the retention of sidewalk café furnishings on the eastern portion of the sidewalk in limited instances, in the event that relocating furnishings to the west side of the sidewalk would not be feasible due to the layout of a particular property and/or other related factors.
There are four sidewalk cafés that have been approved to retain furnishings within the eastern portion of the sidewalk. These furnishings interrupt the continuous 5’-0” wide pedestrian path and adversely impact pedestrian safety, security and ADA access. The subject Resolution would amend the adopted Ocean Drive guidelines by removing this exemption, allowing for sidewalk cafes to be located on the western portion of the sidewalk only. This is consistent with the intent of the Design Guidelines to ensure compatibility between sidewalk café furnishings, the pedestrian experience and Ocean Drive’s historic architecture.