From: Greg St.Claire
To: Council, City
Subject: Ramona Car Free Streets
Date: Monday, June 10, 2024 11:20:53 AM
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Dear Council,
I am the Owner of Nola located on the closed section of Ramona with a parklet that we have invested a lot of money and permitted all of the work done to date. I am urging you to extend the Interim Parklet program through March of 2025.
Applying open streets regulations to closed street would be detrimental to sales and overall activity on this street. I am hoping we can settle on a more permanent solution so all the stakeholders on Ramona can feel confident in long term investment in businesses/properties. We have a unique opportunity to make this a really special place in Palo Alto. Again applying open street standards would be a step backwards for this area.
The parklet fees should be charged and we are happy to pay them for use of the street.
Thank you in advance,
Greg St Claire
Issue: Applicability of Ongoing Parklet Standards to Ramona Street – To best use space on a car-free street, staff will need to engage stakeholders and consultants to develop effective outdoor dining standards for car-free streets (as opposed to parklets which are designed to be sited next to vehicular traffic). Thus, staff is seeking Council approval to extend the Interim parklet program on the car-free portion of Ramona Street through March 2025. This will maintain status quo and ensure that parklet operators on the car-free street portion of Ramona will not have to rebuild their parklets to comply with standards meant for streets with vehicular traffic.
Issue: Applicability of License Fees to Ramona Street – If Council does not approve the recommended changes to the interim ordinance, parklets on this portion of Ramona Street will nonetheless be required to pay the license fees for using the public right of way consistent with the Ongoing Parklets Program Regulations on July 1, 2024. They would also be required to redesign/modify their existing parklets to comply with standards meant for Packet_20240606234055269.pdf
parklets on streets with vehicular traffic, which may not be appropriate nor necessary for a car-free street. Staff does not recommend this because it would require complying with standards designed for vehicular traffic and then another round of alterations to comply with potential future standards for outdoor dining on car-free streets. However, staff recommends proceeding with implementation of license fee requirements for the use of public space on Ramona Street. These funds will support the enhanced cleaning and enforcement requested by stakeholders as well as maintain consistency with other downtown businesses occupying public spaces.
Greg St Claire
Owner
Avenir Restaurant Group
www.avenir-rg.com
www.townsc.com
www.nolas.com
www.milagrosrc.com
www.alpineinnpv.com
650-631-8813