Restaurants face rules for seating

Township Committee looks to make restaurants apply for outdoor seating permits.

By: Jessica Beym
   Once the lunch rush is over, the linens on the outdoor tables in front of Hannah and Mason’s are folded up and the tables are brought back inside.
   Since the restaurant opened in April 2004, outdoor dining has been just a lunchtime occasion for the North Main Street eatery.
   But up the street, Teddy’s Restaurant, Hot Wok Cafe and Cranbury Pizza offer their diners the option of eating al fresco in front of the restaurant at any time.
   That’s because the owners of Hannah and Mason’s were granted approval to open their restaurant in April 2004 based on the agreement that they would only offer outdoor seating during lunchtime. At the time, residential neighbors said nighttime outdoor dining would be a noise disturbance.
   Now, the Township Committee plans to introduce an ordinance that would require restaurant owners in the downtown village area to get plans for outdoor dining approved, then apply for a yearly outdoor seating permit. Township officials said the change would establish a fair guideline, but would allow the township to maintain control.
   A draft ordinance could be up for discussion May 22. If the proposal becomes law, existing restaurant owners would need to get approval from the Planning Board and apply for a permit in order to continue having outdoor dining.
   Currently, any new restaurant that applies for outdoor seating must include that information in its site plan application to the Planning Board.
   Township Committee member Richard Stannard, a liaison to the Planning Board, said the board reviews the restaurant applications on a case-by-case basis and has tried to make sensible decisions regarding outdoor seating.
   "We want to have fairness," Mr. Stannard said Tuesday. "We can’t say to Hot Wok, ‘Go ahead and serve on the sidewalk,’ and to Hannah and Mason’s, ‘No. You can’t.’ Fairness has to win out and the best way for that to happen is to create an ordinance that addresses all of these issues and problems and gives everyone the same rights. The Planning Board did the best they could, but it created inequities."
   Township Planner Richard Preiss said the ordinance would require that the parameters of outdoor dining — the number of tables, if there would be an awning, permanent fixtures, a fence around the tables, cooking outside or music outside — be spelled out.
   If the business owner is approved for outdoor dining by the Planning Board, he would then have to request a permit to allow outdoor seating. If there were complaints of noise, loitering or littering, or if the owner violated his approved plans, the permit could be revoked, Mr. Preiss said.
   The ordinance would also allow business owners in the highway commercial zones, research and industrial zones, and light industrial zones to have outdoor dining without the need for a permit.
   "The standards for these areas are easy to accommodate," Mr. Preiss said. "But it’s tricky in the village commercial area where there is residents and a potential for noise disturbance. The permit would specifically address the operation and would encourage them not to cause a disturbance."
   Mr. Preiss said he has been working with the Planning Board to draft the specifics of the ordinance, regarding pedestrian access on the sidewalks and safety issues.