POLL: Current City Council alleviates harm to Marco businesses before new council is seated

Photo by KELLY FARRELL, Staff

Davinci Restorante's hostess Leslie Robinson isn't pulling out any new chairs yet. As of noon Tuesday no one sought to take advantage of the city's short-term laissez faire approach to restaurant parking and seating. Seating limits were lifted by Marco's Community Development Department effective immediately Friday through April. During the trial program, there will be no fee for a permit to have a limitless number of seats as long as fire codes are followed.

MARCO ISLAND — Changes in city policy-making are coming quickly as it will be out with the old and in with the new council on March 15.

Restaurants will not have to follow city parking space requirements through April, which will allow some restaurants to immediately add more seats for customers.

Chairman Rob Popoff said if proposed changes to restaurant parking regulations didn’t come soon, than he would no longer be seated on council to protect Island businesses’ ability to make money. That’s what he says he set out to do when he recommended changing the restaurant parking ordinance in April 2009.

“Putting it off until March 15 is not an option because I can’t vote on it … The reason it got swept under the rug is irrelevant,” said Popoff.

The current restaurant parking ordinance requires restaurants that are not in shopping plazas to supply one parking space per four seats and restaurants that are located in malls to supply one parking space per 250 square feet of space.

President of the Marco Island Restaurant Association Joe Oliverio requested that both restaurant types be regulated based on square footage rather than seats and he suggested freestanding restaurants, such as the one he owns, Joey’s Pizza, be required to supply one parking space per 200 square feet.

The Planning Board reviewed the recommendation in April, May, August and October of 2009, but changes to the ordinance were never drafted or presented in an advertised public meeting.

On Oct. 19, City Council requested staff draft a new ordinance regulating all restaurants based on square footage.

There was no consensus on whether those requirements would be more or less lax than the existing ordinance.

Community Development Director Steve Olmsted moved swiftly to develop a pilot program following Popoff’s evident disappointment in the stalling of the ordinance on Feb. 1, which was then echoed by Councilmen Jerry Gibson and Frank Recker.

City Manager Steve Thompson sent an email to council the next day, Feb. 2, saying staff “dropped the ball” on moving forward with creating the ordinance council requested.

Thompson scheduled the Planning Board to review such an ordinance on Feb. 26, followed by a first reading of the ordinance by City Council on March 1 and the final reading scheduled for the City Council meeting of March 15.

Now, Popoff’s only option to ensure he votes is to announce a special-called meeting before the new council members, including Larry Magel, Joe Batte and the reelected Chuck Kiester, are sworn in by a judge.

Magel and Batte agreed with Popoff that the current council must continue executing their powers and responsibilities until the end of their elected terms.

They also said they had not yet learned all the details of the restaurant parking regulations and thus felt the current council should move forward.

“If it could be decided today, if they have all the information they need to make a decision, they should make a decision and serve out their terms as they were elected to do,” said Magel.

The pilot program developed by Olmsted lifts all restaurant parking restrictions set by the city until April 30 or until a long-term policy is set by council. County, state and fire codes still apply.

The city will require a permit but will not charge a fee.

“The primary evaluation on this issue will be whether this creates an undue hardship on adjacent properties,” Olmsted said.

Some restaurant owners want to serve more customers by having more seats, others want to expand and be able to sell alcohol.

Peter Marek, owner and chef of Marek’s Collier House Restaurant on Bald Eagle Drive, said he would like the regulations to change from four seats allowed per parking space to five seats allowed per space and isn’t sure a temporary change will help.

“If the parking went to 5:1 (five seats to one parking spot), I could get a liquor license … That’s what this is all about,” said Marek. “I’m pleased that they are trying to help, but I don’t think this will do it … I can’t get a liquor license for just a few months out of the year.”

Chairman of the Planning Board Jim Riviere noted one thing that most can agree on — the continuing requests for the rules to be reviewed is a symptom that something isn’t right. Riviere said he’s not clear what the problem is, however.

“I’m not on the inside loop on this one,” he said.

Parking restrictions went from allowing restaurants to have two seats per parking space to three seats per space in 2004. In 2006, the rules were relaxed to allow four seats per space.

Riviere said the fast-track pilot program reminded him of a recent petition for a variance affecting one storage company when the petitioner was the city rather than that business owner.

“Sounds like we’ve got the perfect solution, now if we could just find out what the problem is... I’d expect the city (officials behind this) bring forward the cause and bring forward the policy or procedure that supports the pilot program.”