2020.12.16 Council Agenda Item 1

Summary

Re-enactment of Ordinance No.128-2020, an emergency ordinance to temporarily suspend certain provisions of the Falmouth Code of Ordinances relating to outdoor eating areas and outdoor retail display to assist businesses suffering economic loss due to COVID-19 in a manner consistent with the Governor’s re-opening plan.

A public hearing is not required under the Town Charter for the adoption of an emergency ordinance. The Council accepted public comment on this item when this item was discussed at the Council’s May 27 meeting and each time the ordinance was re-enacted on July 20, September 14, and November 9. Public comment will be taken at this meeting.

ACTION: Council action is anticipated.

Description

On June 3, 2020, in response to challenges businesses were facing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Town Council adopted Emergency Ordinance No. 128-2020 to allow busineses the ability to temporarily establish outdoor eating areas and outdoor retail display areas through an expedited, staff-level permitting process with relaxed regulatory standards.

The Council has since re-enacted the Emergency Ordinance for an additional 60 days on three separate occasions on July 20, 2020, September 14, 2020, and November 9, 2020.

Since the adoption of the Emergency Ordinance on June 3, the Town has approved temporary outdoor permits for five restaurants (JP’s Bistro, Dockside Grill, Ricetta’s, Rivalries, Bueno Loco). No temporary outdoor retail display permits have been requested or issued to-date.

Per the terms of the Emergency Ordinance, and the terms of the subsequent re-enactments of the Emergency Ordinance, the Ordinance itself, and any approvals issued thereunder, will expire on January 8, 2021 absent any additional action by the Council. Section 213.1 of the Town Charter is the relevant provision that describes the Council’s authority to adopt and re-enact emergency ordinances as follows: “Every emergency ordinance shall stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date of its adoption, but this shall not prevent the re-enactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists.”

If the Council finds that the emergency conditions that existed when the Emergency Ordinance was adopted on June 3, 2020 still exist, the Council may re-enact the emergency ordinance with the affirmative vote of at least five councilors. A draft emergency ordinance to re-enact Ordinance No. 128-2020 has been prepared for the Council’s consideration. Section 4 is the relevant section of the proposed ordinance draft that has been modified to include a new ordinance expiration date of February 14, 2021. This date allows the ordinance to remain in effect for the maximum 60 day time period allowed under the Charter. (The Council may choose to shorten the effective date of the emergency ordinance to reflect a time period less than 60 days.)

Attached background material for this item includes: