Tiburon works to simplify approvals for sidewalk dining

Tiburon may soon make it easier for sidewalk dining to be part of the downtown restaurant scene.

Officials are moving quickly to formalize new zoning guidelines to allow dining on public sidewalks on Main Street and in mixed-use zones, where several restaurants received temporary permits to accommodate it during the COVID-19 pandemic. But those agreements were supposed to end with California’s state of emergency, which the governor lifted in February 2023.

The Town Council will consider new permanent rules at its meeting tonight, March 6, following the Planning Commission’s 3-0 recommendation on Feb. 28; Commissioners Daniel Amir and Kathleen Defever were absent.

Town Manager Greg Chanis said that, anecdotally, the response to outdoor dining over the past few years has been overwhelmingly positive. However, Conor Flaherty, co-owner of Sam’s Anchor Cafe, wrote a letter to the commission saying outdoor dining should be removed from Main Street until a thoughtful plan is developed.

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