(1) Definitions.
(a) Establishment. Any place or premises, whether public or private, where any person conducting any enterprise, occupation, vocation or business, whether or not for profit and whether temporarily or permanently located.
(b) Food. Every substance intended for human consumption, whether in solid or liquid form, excluding any substance the sale of which is regulated by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
(c) Restaurant. Any establishment where food is handled or sold, provided that said establishment is located in a permanent structure.
(d) Sidewalk Café. An open-air space on the public sidewalk directly abutting, adjacent and contiguous to a restaurant or any premises licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, pursuant to regulations (40 Pa. Code Chapter 7, Subchapter B, § 7.21) of the Board, to conduct business on the above-mentioned premises, where food is served at tables and chairs. 480
(e) Outdoor Entertainment. Entertainment, including but not limited to, music, television, and performances that are provided by a business with a sidewalk café permit, streetery, temporary street closure, or temporary lot closure for their patrons outside. Outdoor Entertainment shall exclude adult cabarets. 480.1
(2) Location. Notwithstanding any provision of Section 9-205, a sidewalk café may be maintained (i) within the area bounded by the Delaware River, the south houseline of South street, the center line of Third street, the south houseline of Bainbridge street, the Schuylkill River and the north houseline of Fairmount avenue; (ii) on Broad street, between Bainbridge street and the north houseline of Washington avenue; (iii) within the area bounded by the south side of Shurs lane to the north side of Green lane and the east side of Cresson street to the Schuylkill River; (iv) on East Passyunk avenue, both sides, between Broad street and Federal street; (v) on Ninth street, both sides, between Christian street and Federal street; (vi) on Germantown avenue, both sides, from Washington lane to Creshiem Valley road; (vii) on Germantown avenue, both sides, from Creshiem Valley road to Rex avenue; (viii) on Bethlehem pike, both sides, from Germantown avenue to Newtown street; (ix) on Ridge avenue, both sides, from Rochelle avenue to Domino lane; (x) on Frankford avenue, both sides, from Harbison avenue to Sheffield avenue; (xi) on Cottman avenue, both sides, from Erdrick street to Leon street; (xii) on Ryan avenue, both sides, from Frankford avenue to Leon street; (xiii) on Robbins street, both sides, from Frankford avenue to Mulberry street; (xiv) on Sackett street, both sides, from Frankford avenue to Levick street; (xv) within the area bounded by the west side of Frankford avenue, the north side of Levick street, the east side of Hawthorne street and the south side of Hellerman street; (xvi) on Torresdale avenue, both sides, from Knorr street to Tyson avenue; (xvii) on Princeton avenue, both sides, from Marsden street to Tulip street; (xviii) within the area bounded by the east side of Roosevelt boulevard, the south side of Saint Vincent street, the west side of Brous avenue, and the north side of Tyson avenue; (xix) on Cottman avenue, both sides, from Roosevelt boulevard to Brous avenue; and (xx) on the south side of Cottman avenue, from to Brous avenue to Barnard avenue; provided that the conditions of this Section are complied with. 481
(3) License, Indemnification and Other Conditions. 482 No person shall erect, construct or maintain a sidewalk café, either where permitted by subsection (2) or where permitted pursuant to special ordinance, unless he has obtained a sidewalk café license from the Department of Licenses and Inspections. No license shall be issued unless:
(a) Such person submits the materials required pursuant to subsection (4) to the Department and the Department determines that the location at which the sidewalk café is proposed is a permitted location, either pursuant to this Section or pursuant to special ordinance, and determines that the restaurant to which the proposed sidewalk café is accessory has all other necessary licenses and permits;
(b) The Department of Streets has determined, and advises the Department of Licenses and Inspections, that the proposed café meets the placement requirements of subsection (6);
(c) The licensee agrees in writing, in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, to remove the sidewalk café after written notice has been given by the Department of Licenses and Inspections that either:
(.1) the Department of Streets has determined that the sidewalk café no longer meets the placement requirements of subsection (6); the sidewalk café must be removed to accommodate a municipal or municipally sponsored public project; or the Streets Department has granted a temporary permit to close the sidewalk; or
(.2) the Department of Licenses and Inspections has determined that the sidewalk café is no longer being used as such; the restaurant to which the café is accessory has been temporarily or permanently closed for violation of any City, state or federal law and/or regulation; or the sidewalk café is being operated in violation of any ordinance, rule or regulation of the City of Philadelphia;
(d) The licensee agrees in writing in form satisfactory to the City Solicitor to indemnify and hold harmless the City, its officers, employees and agents from and against any and all loss resulting from injury to, or death to persons or damage to property arising out of, resulting from, or in any manner caused by the presence, location, use, operation, installation, maintenance, replacement or removal of, such sidewalk café, or by the acts or omissions of the employees or agents of the licensee in connection with such café. The licensee shall also agree to release the City from any and all claims relating to its sidewalk café, including, but not limited to, loss of business and/or value of the sidewalk café when it is ordered removed or when street, sidewalk or utility construction occurs;
(e) The licensee agrees in writing in form satisfactory to the City Solicitor to obtain and maintain in full force and effect, at the licensee's own expense, an insurance policy naming the City of Philadelphia as an additional insured. The policy shall afford comprehensive general liability insurance including contractual liability insurance covering the licensee's indemnification and hold harmless obligations under subsection (d) above and shall provide that the Law Department be notified upon the expiration of coverage in the event the policy is cancelled or the applicant fails to renew the café license. Within ten (10) days of the approval of the sidewalk café license application, and each year thereafter, the licensee shall submit a certificate of insurance in accordance with the agreement and maintain a copy on the premises for review;
(f) The licensee obtains a bond with corporate surety in amount approved by the Streets Department and in form satisfactory to the Law Department to cover indemnification of the City for the cost of removal of any part of the sidewalk café, restoration of the public right-of-way, and all incidental costs; and
(g) The licensee pays an annual fee of one hundred eighty dollars ($180). Such fee shall be in addition to any fees for other permits and licenses necessary for the operation of the restaurant to which the sidewalk café is accessory. All sidewalk café licenses shall be issued for a one-year period established by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. 483
(4) License Applications. 484
(a) Applications for sidewalk café licenses shall be made on forms provided by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Applicants must submit the following with the application:
(.1) The name of the applicant, the relationship of the applicant to the restaurant to which the café is accessory (owner, manager, etc.) and the street address of the property where the sidewalk café is proposed. If the applicant is other than the owner of the building abutting the location of the proposed sidewalk café, the applicant must provide written authorization from the property owner stating that the property owner has no objection to the sidewalk café;
(.2) Four copies of a plan drawn to minimum scale of 1/4" = 1' showing:
(.a) Dimensions of the proposed sidewalk café boundaries, including the building line of the existing building;
(.b) Existing sidewalk widths;
(.c) The location of all transit stops within fifteen (15) feet of the property line and its abutting sidewalk; and
(.d) All sidewalk obstructions, including, but not limited to: poles, parking meters, telephone stands, trees, cellar doors, etc. within ten (10) feet of the outer edge of the proposed sidewalk café;
(.3) Three color photographs, at least 5" x 7", showing the complete area of the building facade. This will necessitate three different photo angles;c
(.4) A non-refundable application fee of one hundred eighty dollars ($180). When a license is granted, the application fee shall be credited towards the first year's license fee. 485
(b) The applicant shall be provided with the current form of the written agreements required pursuant to subsection (4) at the time the application is made.
(c) Approval or disapproval of a license to operate a sidewalk café must be issued within thirty (30) days after the applicant complies with all the requirements as set forth in this Section.
(d) A recipient of a Sidewalk Café permit, or a recipient of a streetery permit or temporary street closure permit, pursuant to regulations, shall be eligible to provide Outdoor Entertainment until December 31, 2021, so long as all other provisions of the Philadelphia Code are adhered to, including the following: 485.1
(.1) This provision shall apply retroactively to any applicant that had prior approval for a sidewalk café permit, streetery-street closure, or temporary lot closure.
(.2) Permittees must notify the City, through the streetery@phila.gov email address, that an Outdoor Entertainment performance is scheduled seventy-two (72) hours in advance of the Outdoor Entertainment performance taking place. The Streets Department may, by regulation, extend the notification requirement for significant geographic areas of the City when there is a determination that a longer notification period is necessary to ensure that the health and public safety of this significant geographic area of the City is sufficiently considered and addressed. In this notification, permittees must certify that:
(.a) they have read, understand, and will comply with the City's COVID safety guidelines relating to entertainment, dining, and leisure, and;
(.b) they will comply with any regulations promulgated by the City pursuant to this legislation.
(.3) Performers must wear a face mask at all times during an Outdoor Entertainment performance unless:
(.a) all performers stand more than twenty (20) feet from members of the public; or
(.b) performers perform behind a plexiglass barrier that will sufficiently prevent respiratory droplets from travelling from any performer to a member of the public.
(.4) All equipment must be removed at the conclusion of each Outdoor Entertainment performance.
(.5) A permittee that receives more than one violation notice for failure to maintain an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant pedestrian path, shall be prohibited from providing Outdoor Entertainment.
(.6) There shall be no more than two (2) Outdoor Entertainment performances per City block, at any given time.
(.7) Until June 15, 2021, Outdoor Entertainment performances shall require a footway closure permit from the Streets Department, issued at the discretion of the Streets Commissioner.
(.8) After June 15, 2021, Outdoor Entertainment performances shall no longer require a footway closure permit from the Streets Department, however, the City reserves the right to deny the right to conduct Outdoor Entertainment performances on the basis of right-of- way conflicts, public safety concerns, history of violations, or history of complaints. Such denials will be provided in writing with the cause identified.
(.9) The Streets Department may, by regulation, restrict the hours that Outdoor Entertainment performances may occur for significant geographic areas of the City when there is a determination that shorter Outdoor Entertainment performance hours are necessary to ensure that the health and public safety of this significant geographic area of the City is sufficiently considered and addressed.
(5) Posting Requirement. 486
(a) Within five (5) days of the filing of an initial application for a sidewalk café license, the applicant shall give public notice of the application by posting at a conspicuous location in the front window or on the front door of the restaurant to which the sidewalk café will be accessory a form approved by the Streets Department. The applicant is responsible for assuring that such notice is posted continuously for a minimum of ten (10) consecutive days, and no license shall issue prior to the completion of at least ten (10) days of public notice.
(6) Placement Requirements. 487
(a) All parts of a sidewalk café shall be easily removable.
(b) On streets with a confirmed sidewalk width of thirteen (13) feet or less, at least five (5) feet of clear sidewalk space shall be maintained at all times to provide pedestrian access. On streets with a confirmed sidewalk width of more than thirteen (13) feet, at least one-half the confirmed sidewalk width shall be maintained at all times to provide pedestrian access.
(c) The clear sidewalk space shall be measured from the curb line, or, if closer to the sidewalk café, from the nearest obstruction on a line parallel to the curb line, to the outside edge of any chair, table or collapsible railing as shown on the plans approved by the Department of Streets. For the purpose of determining clear sidewalk space, trees, steps, street light poles, sign poles, fire hydrants, parking meters, or other objects located on the sidewalk surface shall be considered as obstructions.
(d) Ventilation grates cannot be covered and cannot be included as clear sidewalk space.
(e) The licensee shall be responsible for keeping all visitors, patrons, employees, and café fixtures, including, without limitation, tables, chairs, and heaters, from occupying or encroaching into the required clear sidewalk space.
(f) Sidewalk cafés located at street intersections shall provide corner clearance by providing a ten (10) foot clear space from the point of tangency of the curb line.
(g) No part of the sidewalk café shall be within fifteen (15) feet of a transit stop.
(h) The sidewalk café shall be at the same elevation as the existing sidewalk surface.
(i) The required clear egress space shall be maintained between the exit door(s) of the structure and the clear sidewalk space.
(j) The placement or maintenance of a sidewalk café shall not impede or endanger pedestrian travel, or obstruct or interfere with the installation or maintenance of underground utilities.
(k) Collapsible or removable handrails shall only be permitted where the ground receptacle can be capped. The anchors for such handrails cannot exceed a depth below grade of the sidewalk of four (4) inches. The collapsible or removable handrails shall be removed during periods of the year when the sidewalk café is not in use. The Department of Streets may require an applicant to maintain removable or collapsible handrails or guards when it determines handrails or guards are necessary to prevent encroachment into the clear sidewalk area that is required pursuant to this Section.
(l) Provided that the clear sidewalk space is maintained as otherwise required in this subsection, an applicant may also occupy an area adjacent to the curb line after 7:00 p.m., provided that the following conditions are met:
(.1) the café must be located adjacent to a traffic lane regulated for use only for parking and/or loading (i.e. the lane cannot be a traffic lane after 7:00 p.m.);
(.2) only movable tables and/or chairs shall be permitted and must be placed at least one and one-half (1.5) feet from the curb line;
(.3) chairs must be placed in positions parallel to the curb line; and
(.4) the minimum clear sidewalk space required pursuant to this subsection must be maintained at all times except employees of the licensee are permitted to serve tables at the curb lines of cafés in compliance with other provisions of this subsection.
(7) Maintenance of Sidewalk Cafés. 488
(a) Licensee shall maintain the sidewalk café in accordance with all City, state and federal laws, as well as any rules and regulations which pertain to the use of the sidewalk café including, but not limited to, any and all City Code rules and regulations as may be required by the Department of Fire, Police, Health, Streets and Licenses and Inspections.
(b) All food served from sidewalk cafés in the following locations shall be served on non-disposable containers, and no sidewalk café shall be maintained in the following locations unless such café is directly abutting a restaurant where more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the interior gross floor area is used for seating:
(.1) Chestnut street from Broad street to Eighteenth street; and
(.2) Walnut street from Broad street to Eighteenth street.
(c) The issuance of a license pursuant to this Section does not permit any conduct otherwise prohibited by this Code, including otherwise prohibited outdoor cooking and outdoor storage of flammable materials. 489
(d) A license granted pursuant to this Section does not create any vested property right in the sidewalk area to which the license applies. 490
(e) No sidewalk café, located within the following area, shall be operated or maintained between the hours of 12 midnight and 8 a.m.: 491
(.1) the area bounded by the south side of Shurs lane to the north side of Green lane and the east side of Cresson street to the Schuylkill River.
(8) Remedies. 492
(a) Any officer authorized to enforce this Code shall, upon making a determination that the owner or operator of a sidewalk café is in violation of this Section or a sidewalk café license, provide the owner or operator a violation notice.
(b) Such notice shall specify whether the placement of the sidewalk café must be modified to come into compliance with this Section or whether the sidewalk café must be entirely removed and shall provide a time in which compliance is required.
(c) If the owner or operator fails to comply as directed in the notice, the City may institute court proceedings either for collection of penalties as provided in this Section or seeking a court order to force compliance or both.
(d) If the owner or operator of the restaurant fails to comply as directed in the notice, or fails to comply with his or her written agreements under subsection (4), the Department of Licenses and Inspections is authorized to abate the violation, including by removing furniture or other property from the sidewalk, by itself or by contract, and restoring the sidewalk to its original condition. The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall be further authorized to charge the costs of such removal and restoration, including administrative costs, to the violator and the Law Department may take action to collect such costs by lien or any other method. If removed property is not claimed in writing within thirty (30) days, the City is authorized to dispose of said property.
(e) Penalties. 493 The penalty for violation of this Section or any condition of a license or of a regulation issued pursuant to this Section shall be a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) per day.
(f) Repeat Offenders. 494 Any person who commits, on more than one occasion, a violation of this Section or any condition of a license or of a regulation issued pursuant to this Section, shall be guilty of a separate offense of Repeat Violation, and for each such Repeat Violation, shall be subject to a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300), or imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days, or both. A person shall be guilty of a Repeat Violation regardless whether the second or subsequent violation occurs before or after a judicial finding of a first or previous violation. Each violation, after the first, shall constitute a separate Repeat Violation offense.
(9) The Department of Streets and the Department of Licenses and Inspections may issue whatever rules or regulations they deem necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of this Section. With respect to rules or regulations as to the extent of encroachments upon and obstructions of the streets, for the protection or facilitation of pedestrian traffic, such rules or regulations shall not permit encroachments upon or obstructions of the streets greater than those specified in Title 11 of The Philadelphia Code. 495
(10) Special Provisions for Existing Sidewalk Cafés and Pending Sidewalk Café Applicants. 496 The following special provisions shall apply only within the First and Fourth Councilmanic Districts:
(a) Any sidewalk café operating under the provisions of a license granted before the date Bill No. 030254-A became law may continue to operate under the provisions of that license for the remaining term of that license. Renewal of licenses for such sidewalk cafés will be governed by the provisions of this Section as amended by Bill No. 030254-A, except that no such sidewalk café shall be denied renewal because it fails to meet the "clear sidewalk space" requirements of subsection (6). Any such sidewalk café that does not meet the "clear sidewalk space" requirement must continue to operate in accordance with the plan submitted when the sidewalk café was licensed prior to the date Bill No. 030254-A became law, and if such a sidewalk café wishes to operate in accordance with a different plan, such plan must be approved in accordance with all provisions of this Section, including the "clear sidewalk space" requirements of subsection (6).
(b) If a special ordinance authorizing a sidewalk café was passed by Council before the date Bill No. 030254-A became law, but a license had not yet been issued for such sidewalk café as of such date, such sidewalk café shall be licensed under the provisions of this Section as it existed prior to the amendments set forth in Bill No. 030254-A. Once such license is issued, the provisions of subsection (10)(a) shall apply to such sidewalk café.
(11) Special Provisions Within the Italian Market. 497
(a) A sidewalk café on Ninth Street, between Christian Street and Federal Street, may be located entirely or partially within an available space in which a curb market cart may be located under Section 9-201. Subsection 9-208(6)(h), which requires a sidewalk café to be at the same elevation as the sidewalk, shall not apply to such sidewalk cafés, but all other provisions of this Section shall apply.
Notes
| 479 | Added, 1979 Ordinances, p. 416. |
| 480 | Amended, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 480.1 | |
| 481 | Amended, 1980 Ordinances, p. 805; amended, 1993 Ordinances, p. 1156; amended, Bill No. 990726 (approved December 31, 1999); amended, Bill No. 000065 (approved March 21, 2001); amended, Bill No. 040783 (approved October 27, 2004); amended, Bill No. 070369 (approved July 31, 2007); amended, Bill No. 070682 (approved November 29, 2007); amended, Bill No. 070945 (approved December 13, 2007); amended, Bill No. 090387 (approved June 19, 2009); amended, Bill No. 180171 (approved June 6, 2018); amended, Bill No. 230307 (approved August 23, 2023); amended, Bill No. 230625 (approved November 13, 2023). |
| 482 | Amended, 1993 Ordinances, p. 1086; former subsection (3) deleted, former subsection (4) renumbered and amended, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31 2003). |
| 483 | Amended, Bill No. 090777-A (approved February 17, 2010). |
| 484 | Added, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 485 | Amended, Bill No. 090777-A (approved February 17, 2010). |
| 485.1 | |
| 486 | Added, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 487 | Added, and former subsection (6) deleted, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 488 | |
| 489 | Added, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 490 | Added, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 491 | Added, Bill No. 070694 (approved November 29, 2007). |
| 492 | Added, and former subsection (8) deleted, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 493 | Amended, Bill No. 758 (approved July 24, 1995), 1995 Ordinances, p. 1081; Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 494 | Added, Bill No. 758 (approved July 24, 1995), 1995 Ordinances, p. 1081; Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 495 | Added, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 496 | Added, Bill No. 030254-A (approved July 31, 2003). |
| 497 | Added, Bill No. 090746 (approved July 5, 2011). |