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PhotobyMVJantzen
Vincent C. Gray, Mayor
S I D E W A L K C A F ÉS An overview of the regulations governing sidewalk cafés and of the review process for obtaining a sidewalk café permit.
ThewidesidewalksfoundinWashington,
DC,commercialareasarewellsuitedfor
sidewalkcafés.Cafésareoneofthebest
waystoactivatecitystreetsandenhance
thecharacterofneighborhoods.Sidewalk
cafésarewhereresidentsandvisitorcan
enjoygoodfoodandgoodweather,while
enjoyingourbeautifulcity.TheDistrict
encouragesrestaurantsandotherqualify‐
ingbusinessesto,whereverfeasible,open
sidewalkcafés.Sincesidewalksarepri‐
marilyintendedforpedestriansandregu‐
latedbytheDistrictDepartmentof
Transportation(DDOT)aspartofthe
city’stransportationnetwork,theDistrict
reviewseachsidewalkcaféapplicationto
makesureminimumrequirementsfor
clearsidewalksandseatingarefollowed.
Thisguaranteesthatcafésareawelcom‐
ingandsafeadditiontocitystreets.
Regulations for Enclosed and Unenclosed Sidewalk Cafés
Permit Requirements Nopersoncanoperateasidewalkcafé
inpublicspaceuntiltheyareissueda
SidewalkCaféPermitandaCertificateof
Useforacafé(DCMR24‐301.2).Sidewalk
cafépermitsareissuedtopropertyown‐
ersonly,andeachapplicationforacafé
mustbesignedandapprovedbythe
ownerofthepropertyabuttingthepublic
spacetobeoccupiedbythecafé(DCMR
24‐303.3).
Seating Capacity Sidewalkcafésmusthave15square
feetforeveryseatwithintheirseating
area.Thenumberofseatswithinaside‐
walkcaféisdeterminedbydividingthe
totalsquarefeetofthecaféby15.(The
PublicSpaceCommitteeusesthestandard
forindoorrestaurantseatingestablished
intheInternationalBuildingCode,Section
1004.1and1004.2,Table1004.1.1)
Furnishing and Fixtures Allfurnishingsandfixtures,suchas
chairs,tables,umbrellas,andlights,must
benon‐permanentandremovablewithin
floorceilingoftheadjoiningbuilding,
whicheverisless(DCMR24‐315.2,24‐
315.3,and24‐315.4).
Fences and Planters Theheightofarailing,fence,or
planter(includingvegetation)arounda
sidewalkcafécannotbehigherthan36
inches(DCMR24‐315.5).
Flooring Artificialturf,carpet,platforms,orany
othersurfacecoverinasidewalkcaféis
allowedonthefloorareaonlywhenspe‐
cificallyapprovedbytheFireChiefandthe
PublicSpaceCommittee(DCMR24‐315.6).
Approval Process
Sidewalkcafésoccupypublicspace
thatistypicallysetasideforpedestrians.
Tomakesuretheinterestofthepublicis
protected,applicationsarereviewedby
multipleDistrictagenciesandthelocal
AdvisoryNeighborhoodCommission.The
applicationprocesstakesseveralweeks.
WhiletheDistrictstronglysupports
sidewalkcafésinpublicspace,applicants
mustmeetminimumstandardsforan
applicationtobeapproved.Insomeloca‐
tionspublicspaceconstraintsmakeit
impossibletoapproveasidewalkcafé.
Sidewalkcafépermitsareobtained
fromtheDDOTPublicSpacePermitOffice
afterapprovalbythePublicSpaceCommittee.
TobeconsideredbythePublicSpace
Committee,allapplicantsmustsubmita
completedpublicspaceapplicationto
DDOT’sPublicSpacePermitOffice.The
PublicSpaceCommitteemeetsonthe4th
Thursdayofeachmonth‐meetingdates
anddeadlinesforfilingpermitsare
postedonDDOT’swebsite.Cafépermits
thatcomplywithallregulationsandhave
nooutstandingissuesmaybeapproved
ontheCommittee’sconsentagenda.
Somesidewalkcafésmayneedmore
thanonepermit:
• PublicSpaceSidewalkCaféPermitfor
Rental‐allapplications
• SidewalkCaféCertificateofUsefrom
DirectoroftheDepartmentof
ConsumerandRegulatoryAffairs
(DCRA)‐allapplications
• BuildingPermit(enclosedcafésonly‐
seeDCMR12:314.3)
• ElectricPermit(caféswithlightingor
electricalfixtures–DCElectricalCode
110‐50,410,430)
• ABClicense(sidewalkcafésserving
alcohol)
For More Information…
ContactDDOT’sPublicSpacePermit
Officeat202.442.4670tolearnmoreabout
sidewalkcaféapplicationrequirementsand
thePublicSpaceCommitteereviewprocess.
ContacttheDCOfficeofPlanning’s
PublicSpaceProgramat202.442.7600to
learnmoreabouturbandesignoptionsto
considerwhendevelopingplansforthe
locationandlayoutofsidewalkcafés.
Enclosed cafés must have transparent
walls.
Muriel Bowser, Mayor
24hours.Furnishingsandfixturesshould
bearrangedsotheydonotobstructres‐
taurantdoorsandprovideexitaislesfor
eachdoor(DCMR24‐210.1,24‐312.2,and
24‐312.3).
Outdoorseatingmustbecountedin
satisfyingrestroomrequirements,includ‐
ing,butnotlimitedto,quantity,access,
andlocation(DCMR24‐314.7).
Trashcansandotherrefusestoragecon‐
tainersmaynotbelocatednearsidewalk
cafés(DCMR24‐314.9and24‐314.10).
Thefloorofasidewalkcafémustbeatthe
sameelevationastheexistingsurfacespace.
Inorderforthefloorofthesidewalkcaféto
beatgrade,afloormaybeconstructedifit
islessthan18inchesabovewherethecafé
meetswiththeadjoiningclearsidewalk
space(DCMR24‐312.5and24‐312.6).
Clear Sidewalk Space and Location
Sidewalkcafésmusthaveanadjacent
clearandunobstructedpassagewaynot
lessthan10feetinwidthatallpoints.
However,thePublicSpaceCommitteehas
theauthoritytoapproveanadjacentpas‐
sagewaynolessthan6feet(DCMR24‐
204.1,204.2,and316.9).Iflocatedat
streetintersectionscafésmustprovide
clearanceof10feettothecorner.No
sidewalkcafésshallbewithin15feetofa
busstop,abusshelter,oraMetrorail
stationentrance(24‐311.6and24‐
311.7.7).
Theclearsidewalkspaceismeasured
fromthefarthestextendedportionofthe
sidewalkcaféfrontagetothecurblineor
thenearestobstruction,whicheveris
nearesttothesidewalkcafé.Forthepur‐
poseofdeterminingclearsidewalkspace,
trees,streetlightpoles,signpoles,fire
hydrants,andotherobjectslocatedonthe
surfacespaceareconsideredobstruc‐
tions;treeboxeswithtreegratesflush
withthesidewalkarenotconsidered
obstructions(24‐311.1and24‐311.5).
Food and Serving Standards Foodcannotbestoredorpreparedin
thesidewalkcafé(DCMR24‐314.3).
Display of Permit Thepermitforacafémustbedis‐
playedinaconspicuouslocationonthe
frontoftheassociatedbusinesswhereit
canbeseenfromthesidewalkandvisible
insuchawaythatitislegibletoaperson
onthepublicspaceinfrontofthebusi‐
ness(DCMR24‐207.13).
Additional Regulations for Enclosed Sidewalk Cafés
Dates and Conditions for Enclosures Exceptfordaysthatareunseasonably
cold,unseasonablywarm,orrainy,side‐
walkcafésmaybeenclosedfromOctober
15throughMay15only.
Asidewalkcafémaybeenclosedon
anydaywhentheNationalWeather
Servicepredictsat8:00a.m.attheReagan
NationalAirportweatherstationthat,
withinthenext24hours,thetemperature
maygoabove90degreesFahrenheitor
below60degreesFahrenheit,orifthe
chanceofrainis50percentormore,orin
theeventofrain(DCMR24‐210.6and24‐
210.7).Weatherinformationisavailableat
www.weather.gov/washington.
Enclosing Structure Anenclosedsidewalkcafémayutilizea
basewallofopaquematerialuptoa
maximumheightof36inchesfromthe
sidewalklevel.Allenclosingwalls,doors,
andwindows(butnotstructuralmem‐
bers)abovethebasewallmustbeatrans‐
parentmaterial.Tofurthermaximize
transparency,boththehorizontalandver‐
ticalstructuralmembersmustbenomore
than10incheswide(DCMR24‐210.2,24‐
210.3,and24‐210.4).
Wallsandothermaterialsofanen‐
closedsidewalkcafémustbeofnon‐
combustibleorfire‐resistantmaterials.
Awningsorcanopiesmustbeflame‐
retardant.Theflooringmustalsobefire‐
resistant(DCMR24‐316.2and24‐316.5).
Thesupportingstructureofanyenclosed
cafémustbeconstructedtosupportat
least30poundspersquarefootliveload
(DCMR24‐316.6).
Whenrequiredtobeunenclosed,an
enclosedsidewalkcafémustbeoperated
withallofitswindowsopenedandsothat
theenclosedsidewalkcaféisnotenclosed
fromthe36inchbaseto8feetabovethe
sidewalk.Theonlyitemsallowedbetween
thefence/wallandtheceilingarethe
membersholdingorframinganywindows
(DCMR24‐316.10).
Fixtures Noplumbingfixturesareallowedtoin‐
stalledinanenclosedsidewalkcafé.Heat‐
ing,air‐conditioning,ventilation,andelec‐
tricallightingmaybeinstalled,when
authorizedaspartofthesidewalkcafé
permit,inaccordancewiththeapplicable
Districtcodesandregulations(DCMR24‐
210.5).
Location and Configuration Noenclosedsidewalkcafécanproject
morethan20feetfromthebuildingline,or
occupymorethan60percentofavailable
surfacespace.(DCMR24‐210.8).
Whenthecombinedoccupanciesof
theenclosedsidewalkcaféandtheadja‐
centrestaurantexceed75people,two
exitsshallbeprovidedfromtheenclosed
sidewalkcafé:oneisrequiredtoopen
directlyfromthesidewalk,publicalley,or
publicspaceabuttingtheenclosedside‐
walkcaféandonemayopenintothe
abuttingrestaurant.Iftwoexitsarere‐
quiredfortheadjacentbusinessproperty,
twoexitsarealsorequiredfortheen‐
closedsidewalkcafé(DCMR24‐316.7and
24‐316.8).
Additional Regulations for Unenclosed Cafés Only
Awnings and Umbrellas Theawning,canopy,orumbrellasofan
unenclosedsidewalkcafémustbeade‐
quatelysecured,retractable,orremovable.
Framingmustbemadeorconstructedof
non‐combustibleorfire‐resistantmateri‐
als.Thematerialusedtocovertheframing
mustbeflame‐retardantandapprovedby
theFireChief.Theheightoftheawningof
anunenclosedsidewalkcafémustnotbe
lowerthan8feetfromthefloorofthe
sidewalkcafé.Thevalanceoftheawning
cannotexceed12feetandnotexceeda
horizontalplaneextendingfromthefirst
Unenclosedcafésareopentotheskyand
allsides.Sidewalkcafésneedtoallowadequate
spaceforpedestrians.
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