Journal & Topics Media Group

Making Room For Outdoor Dining

AH Carves Out Plan To Close Streets, Boost Opportunities

Outdoor dining has become a fixture in downtown Arlington Heights over the past decade, but this summer it may become the primary way people go out to eat.

To help restaurants increase their capacity once Gov. JB Pritzker allows limited dine-in service to resume, the village is planning to close the streets around the intersection of Campbell Street and Vail Avenue and turn it into a large outdoor dining area. The closure would between on Vail between Davis Street and the end of Harmony Park, and on Campbell between Highland and Dunton avenues. Tables would be placed on the outer edges of the roads and a fenced-off 18-foot-wide pedestrian walkway would run through the middle of the street. There will also be designated spots for curbside pickup located around the on-street dining zone.

Village officials have dubbed the area “Arlington Alfresco” and there will be some kind of signage and fencing to set it apart from the rest of downtown Arlington Heights. The space would open once restaurants are permitted to resume in-person dining and would remain in place until the restrictions on capacity are lifted.

Officials said that the plan would also help downtown retailers since it will drive more foot traffic to the area and create safe pathways for customers entering and leaving stores. “It’s really sad to see all these businesses struggling when so many people have worked so hard to build the community up and to build downtown to be the entertainment destination that it has been,” said Charles Witherington-Perkins, director of planning and community development for Arlington Heights. “So, we looked at how we can help the business community when the governor does allow them to reopen.”

While the proposal is aimed at supporting downtown businesses that have suffered heavy losses during the COVID-19 crisis, village leaders believe it will benefit residents, too. “I think it’s important to note that when we as a board make decisions to assist our small businesses and restaurants, we also in a way are assisting our residents and taxpayers,” Trustee John Scaletta explained. “Small businesses generate sales tax revenue and a higher amount and percentage of real estate taxes. Some also generate food and beverage taxes that are used for many events and Metropolis Theater.

“Not everyone is going to embrace this concept that once the restaurants open that everyone is going to flock back to them,” Scaletta continued. “There’s a lot of people that have immune systems that may not be able to go out, that are very concerned about their immune system. And there’s just still a lot of fear out there over this virus. Us trying to find a way to expand the seating for the restaurants and give additional room for some of our realtors to put their wares outside is a good thing.”

The initial idea for the plan included having the village place tables in Harmony Park but trustees decided to hold off on that for now since there were questions about whether the village should be responsible for setting up the tables, sanitizing them, and policing the park to make sure people adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Although only downtown restaurants will benefit from street closures, other parts of the village could see outdoor dining expanded as well. The village agreed to waive minimum park requirements temporarily so that restaurants throughout Arlington Heights could turn their private parking lots into outdoor patios to increase diner capacity.

Several other measures to support area businesses were also discussed, including:

Expanding the existing zero-interest loan program to provide emergency loans of up to $10,000 to local businesses. The loans would have a three-year payback period.

Reducing the annual fees for most liquor licenses by 25% and delaying the payment date for liquor licenses from June 30 to Sept. 30.

Deferring the collection of food and beverage taxes until Sept. 30.

Lifting the village’s requirement that restaurant kitchens remain open and offer a hot menu until 11 p.m. if the restaurant serves alcohol. Kitchens will now be able to close at 9 p.m., although some kind of substantial food will still need to be offered after that time.

Trustees were generally favorable to all of those ideas and directed village staff to pursue their implementation.

Although the discussion largely revolved around initiatives to support local businesses, the village did outline plans to bolster its emergency resident assistance program. The program will be refocused on providing rent or mortgage assistance for qualifying individuals and will be supported by an infusion of $110,000 in federal community development block grant (CDBG) funding from the CARES Act. Another $54,000 in CDBG monies will go toward social services and counseling programs. Elsewhere, the village plans to allocate $197,000 to refund unused parking permits and another $37,000 to cover water bill penalties through June.

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