WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Businesses along Clematis Street are debating whether they can afford to keep their outdoor dining along the sidewalks.
People who own bars, restaurants and coffee shops all spoke out on the city's proposed fee during a "Sidewalk Cafe Seating Community Engagement Meeting."
"That's why I'm here today — to ensure that the process is more equitable to small businesses, particularly female minority owners like myself," said Allison Boettcher, the owner of Blue Mountain Coffee House. "It should not be that we're paying the same amount in fees as others who generate 20 times as much."
Boettcher opened her doors two months before the pandemic and said outdoor seating kept her business afloat.
"That's the only way I could survive," said Boettcher. "I have a small business place, about 10-12 chairs that are inside, and people want to be able to sit outside, so you have to think out of the box. How do I get more customers? How do I attract them to my tiny shop?"
The debate right now is whether to charge businesses based on their square footage or on a tier system where the fee is based on the seating capacity indoors.
"Clematis (Street) has gone up and down, up and down," said Rodney Mayo, president of Subculture Group, which operates several restaurants on the popular street. "In my 35 years, I've seen five highs, five lows. I don't know if this is not a high or low. I don't know what it is, but we could have another low."
The city said under its proposal, a business would pay upwards of $700 a year.
"I think we're jumping the gun, putting the horse before the carriage by the city raising the parking fees. Right after that, the noise ordinance, and right after that sidewalk cafe," said Mayo. "It's like, enough. We're struggling. I don't think they realize how much businesses are struggling."
The city said the money from the sidewalk fee will go toward keeping it clean and paying for code enforcement to ensure sidewalks have required disability access.
"It is a public space. It is not owned or rented by a restaurant," said assistant city administrator Armando Fana. "It is actually public right of way and so there's always a fee structure established in every city for the use of that public right of way."
The sidewalk cafe plans don't include tables that take over parking spaces.
"I love West Palm Beach. They have really worked with their small businesses," said Boettcher. "Right now, it's just hearing us, which is a part of the democracy, and they're doing just that."
The city hopes to have plans finalized by December.