PhotobyMVJantzen

Vincent C. Gray, Mayor

S I D E W A L K C A F ÉS An overview of the regulations governing sidewalk cafés and of the review process for obtaining a sidewalk café permit.

ThewidesidewalksfoundinWashington,

DC,commercialareasarewellsuitedfor

sidewalkcafés.Cafésareoneofthebest

waystoactivatecitystreetsandenhance

thecharacterofneighborhoods.Sidewalk

cafésarewhereresidentsandvisitorcan

enjoygoodfoodandgoodweather,while

enjoyingourbeautifulcity.TheDistrict

encouragesrestaurantsandotherqualify‐

ingbusinessesto,whereverfeasible,open

sidewalkcafés.Sincesidewalksarepri‐

marilyintendedforpedestriansandregu‐

latedbytheDistrictDepartmentof

Transportation(DDOT)aspartofthe

city’stransportationnetwork,theDistrict

reviewseachsidewalkcaféapplicationto

makesureminimumrequirementsfor

clearsidewalksandseatingarefollowed.

Thisguaranteesthatcafésareawelcom‐

ingandsafeadditiontocitystreets.

Regulations for Enclosed and Unenclosed Sidewalk Cafés

Permit Requirements Nopersoncanoperateasidewalkcafé

inpublicspaceuntiltheyareissueda

SidewalkCaféPermitandaCertificateof

Useforacafé(DCMR24‐301.2).Sidewalk

cafépermitsareissuedtopropertyown‐

ersonly,andeachapplicationforacafé

mustbesignedandapprovedbythe

ownerofthepropertyabuttingthepublic

spacetobeoccupiedbythecafé(DCMR

24‐303.3).

Seating Capacity Sidewalkcafésmusthave15square

feetforeveryseatwithintheirseating

area.Thenumberofseatswithinaside‐

walkcaféisdeterminedbydividingthe

totalsquarefeetofthecaféby15.(The

PublicSpaceCommitteeusesthestandard

forindoorrestaurantseatingestablished

intheInternationalBuildingCode,Section

1004.1and1004.2,Table1004.1.1)

Furnishing and Fixtures Allfurnishingsandfixtures,suchas

chairs,tables,umbrellas,andlights,must

benon‐permanentandremovablewithin

floorceilingoftheadjoiningbuilding,

whicheverisless(DCMR24‐315.2,24‐

315.3,and24‐315.4).

Fences and Planters Theheightofarailing,fence,or

planter(includingvegetation)arounda

sidewalkcafécannotbehigherthan36

inches(DCMR24‐315.5).

Flooring Artificialturf,carpet,platforms,orany

othersurfacecoverinasidewalkcaféis

allowedonthefloorareaonlywhenspe‐

cificallyapprovedbytheFireChiefandthe

PublicSpaceCommittee(DCMR24‐315.6).

Approval Process

Sidewalkcafésoccupypublicspace

thatistypicallysetasideforpedestrians.

Tomakesuretheinterestofthepublicis

protected,applicationsarereviewedby

multipleDistrictagenciesandthelocal

AdvisoryNeighborhoodCommission.The

applicationprocesstakesseveralweeks.

WhiletheDistrictstronglysupports

sidewalkcafésinpublicspace,applicants

mustmeetminimumstandardsforan

applicationtobeapproved.Insomeloca‐

tionspublicspaceconstraintsmakeit

impossibletoapproveasidewalkcafé.

Sidewalkcafépermitsareobtained

fromtheDDOTPublicSpacePermitOffice

afterapprovalbythePublicSpaceCommittee.

TobeconsideredbythePublicSpace

Committee,allapplicantsmustsubmita

completedpublicspaceapplicationto

DDOT’sPublicSpacePermitOffice.The

PublicSpaceCommitteemeetsonthe4th

Thursdayofeachmonth‐meetingdates

anddeadlinesforfilingpermitsare

postedonDDOT’swebsite.Cafépermits

thatcomplywithallregulationsandhave

nooutstandingissuesmaybeapproved

ontheCommittee’sconsentagenda.

Somesidewalkcafésmayneedmore

thanonepermit:

• PublicSpaceSidewalkCaféPermitfor

Rental‐allapplications

• SidewalkCaféCertificateofUsefrom

DirectoroftheDepartmentof

ConsumerandRegulatoryAffairs

(DCRA)‐allapplications

• BuildingPermit(enclosedcafésonly‐

seeDCMR12:314.3)

• ElectricPermit(caféswithlightingor

electricalfixtures–DCElectricalCode

110‐50,410,430)

• ABClicense(sidewalkcafésserving

alcohol)

For More Information…

ContactDDOT’sPublicSpacePermit

Officeat202.442.4670tolearnmoreabout

sidewalkcaféapplicationrequirementsand

thePublicSpaceCommitteereviewprocess.

ContacttheDCOfficeofPlanning’s

PublicSpaceProgramat202.442.7600to

learnmoreabouturbandesignoptionsto

considerwhendevelopingplansforthe

locationandlayoutofsidewalkcafés.

Enclosed cafés must have transparent

walls.

Muriel Bowser, Mayor

24hours.Furnishingsandfixturesshould

bearrangedsotheydonotobstructres‐

taurantdoorsandprovideexitaislesfor

eachdoor(DCMR24‐210.1,24‐312.2,and

24‐312.3).

Outdoorseatingmustbecountedin

satisfyingrestroomrequirements,includ‐

ing,butnotlimitedto,quantity,access,

andlocation(DCMR24‐314.7).

Trashcansandotherrefusestoragecon‐

tainersmaynotbelocatednearsidewalk

cafés(DCMR24‐314.9and24‐314.10).

Thefloorofasidewalkcafémustbeatthe

sameelevationastheexistingsurfacespace.

Inorderforthefloorofthesidewalkcaféto

beatgrade,afloormaybeconstructedifit

islessthan18inchesabovewherethecafé

meetswiththeadjoiningclearsidewalk

space(DCMR24‐312.5and24‐312.6).

Clear Sidewalk Space and Location

Sidewalkcafésmusthaveanadjacent

clearandunobstructedpassagewaynot

lessthan10feetinwidthatallpoints.

However,thePublicSpaceCommitteehas

theauthoritytoapproveanadjacentpas‐

sagewaynolessthan6feet(DCMR24‐

204.1,204.2,and316.9).Iflocatedat

streetintersectionscafésmustprovide

clearanceof10feettothecorner.No

sidewalkcafésshallbewithin15feetofa

busstop,abusshelter,oraMetrorail

stationentrance(24‐311.6and24‐

311.7.7).

Theclearsidewalkspaceismeasured

fromthefarthestextendedportionofthe

sidewalkcaféfrontagetothecurblineor

thenearestobstruction,whicheveris

nearesttothesidewalkcafé.Forthepur‐

poseofdeterminingclearsidewalkspace,

trees,streetlightpoles,signpoles,fire

hydrants,andotherobjectslocatedonthe

surfacespaceareconsideredobstruc‐

tions;treeboxeswithtreegratesflush

withthesidewalkarenotconsidered

obstructions(24‐311.1and24‐311.5).

Food and Serving Standards Foodcannotbestoredorpreparedin

thesidewalkcafé(DCMR24‐314.3).

Display of Permit Thepermitforacafémustbedis‐

playedinaconspicuouslocationonthe

frontoftheassociatedbusinesswhereit

canbeseenfromthesidewalkandvisible

insuchawaythatitislegibletoaperson

onthepublicspaceinfrontofthebusi‐

ness(DCMR24‐207.13).

Additional Regulations for Enclosed Sidewalk Cafés

Dates and Conditions for Enclosures Exceptfordaysthatareunseasonably

cold,unseasonablywarm,orrainy,side‐

walkcafésmaybeenclosedfromOctober

15throughMay15only.

Asidewalkcafémaybeenclosedon

anydaywhentheNationalWeather

Servicepredictsat8:00a.m.attheReagan

NationalAirportweatherstationthat,

withinthenext24hours,thetemperature

maygoabove90degreesFahrenheitor

below60degreesFahrenheit,orifthe

chanceofrainis50percentormore,orin

theeventofrain(DCMR24‐210.6and24‐

210.7).Weatherinformationisavailableat

www.weather.gov/washington.

Enclosing Structure Anenclosedsidewalkcafémayutilizea

basewallofopaquematerialuptoa

maximumheightof36inchesfromthe

sidewalklevel.Allenclosingwalls,doors,

andwindows(butnotstructuralmem‐

bers)abovethebasewallmustbeatrans‐

parentmaterial.Tofurthermaximize

transparency,boththehorizontalandver‐

ticalstructuralmembersmustbenomore

than10incheswide(DCMR24‐210.2,24‐

210.3,and24‐210.4).

Wallsandothermaterialsofanen‐

closedsidewalkcafémustbeofnon‐

combustibleorfire‐resistantmaterials.

Awningsorcanopiesmustbeflame‐

retardant.Theflooringmustalsobefire‐

resistant(DCMR24‐316.2and24‐316.5).

Thesupportingstructureofanyenclosed

cafémustbeconstructedtosupportat

least30poundspersquarefootliveload

(DCMR24‐316.6).

Whenrequiredtobeunenclosed,an

enclosedsidewalkcafémustbeoperated

withallofitswindowsopenedandsothat

theenclosedsidewalkcaféisnotenclosed

fromthe36inchbaseto8feetabovethe

sidewalk.Theonlyitemsallowedbetween

thefence/wallandtheceilingarethe

membersholdingorframinganywindows

(DCMR24‐316.10).

Fixtures Noplumbingfixturesareallowedtoin‐

stalledinanenclosedsidewalkcafé.Heat‐

ing,air‐conditioning,ventilation,andelec‐

tricallightingmaybeinstalled,when

authorizedaspartofthesidewalkcafé

permit,inaccordancewiththeapplicable

Districtcodesandregulations(DCMR24‐

210.5).

Location and Configuration Noenclosedsidewalkcafécanproject

morethan20feetfromthebuildingline,or

occupymorethan60percentofavailable

surfacespace.(DCMR24‐210.8).

Whenthecombinedoccupanciesof

theenclosedsidewalkcaféandtheadja‐

centrestaurantexceed75people,two

exitsshallbeprovidedfromtheenclosed

sidewalkcafé:oneisrequiredtoopen

directlyfromthesidewalk,publicalley,or

publicspaceabuttingtheenclosedside‐

walkcaféandonemayopenintothe

abuttingrestaurant.Iftwoexitsarere‐

quiredfortheadjacentbusinessproperty,

twoexitsarealsorequiredfortheen‐

closedsidewalkcafé(DCMR24‐316.7and

24‐316.8).

Additional Regulations for Unenclosed Cafés Only

Awnings and Umbrellas Theawning,canopy,orumbrellasofan

unenclosedsidewalkcafémustbeade‐

quatelysecured,retractable,orremovable.

Framingmustbemadeorconstructedof

non‐combustibleorfire‐resistantmateri‐

als.Thematerialusedtocovertheframing

mustbeflame‐retardantandapprovedby

theFireChief.Theheightoftheawningof

anunenclosedsidewalkcafémustnotbe

lowerthan8feetfromthefloorofthe

sidewalkcafé.Thevalanceoftheawning

cannotexceed12feetandnotexceeda

horizontalplaneextendingfromthefirst

Unenclosedcafésareopentotheskyand

allsides.Sidewalkcafésneedtoallowadequate

spaceforpedestrians.