Eatery owners hope to continue back yard dining
Soon after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the town issued an executive order declaring an emergency and permitting restaurants to serve customers outside.
This enabled Cielito Lindo to add 20 seats under an awning behind the building at 255 Main Street. And the restaurant is hoping to make the addition permanent.
The Town Planning Board reviewed the request at its Jan. 3 meeting. Some of the board concerns were the durability of the awning, the decibel level of outdoor music and the effect of lighting on nearby residences.
Under existing law, the restaurant would have to provide additional parking spaces to accommodate the increased number of diners. But there are no spaces available on the property. So the owners would have to apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance.
There was a discussion of how many spaces the variance would entail – with numbers ranging from seven to 13. Planning Board Member Led Klosky addressed the issue when it was his turn to speak. “I believe that relief of parking requirements for this tight area of our district is appropriate so I believe the relief from nine to seven is appropriate and make a recommendation that the ZBA do that variance,” he said.
“Noise and lighting are always a concern,” he continued. “The adjacent property I believe is only about 20 feet from the fence line and thus I think it’s appropriate to have some kind of mitigation. I don’t believe the Town Code speaks to this specifically but I’d think that perhaps [the noise level should not] exceed 50 decibels measured off the property.”
Mary Beth Greene-Krafft, a member of the board, inquired about the hours of operation. She was told that the restaurant is currently open from 10 to 9 on Sunday through Thursday and from 10 to 10 on Friday and Saturday. She suggested condensing the hours for entertainment.
The Planning Board referred the application to the ZBA with the recommendation that it reduce the required number of parking spaces to seven.
