§ 15:333. Permit forms, conditions of and restrictions.

The permit shall be issued on a form deemed suitable by the director of the department of development. In addition to naming the permit holder, the location of the sidewalk café, and the hours of operation, the form shall contain any other information deemed appropriate by the director. The permit must be prominently displayed for public view by the permit holder. The issuance of permits and the maintenance of tables and chairs in front of restaurants by the permit holder shall be subject to the following conditions and restrictions:

(1)

Each permit shall be subject to unilateral revocation by the city-parish at any time.

(2)

The permit issued shall be personal to the permit holder only and shall not be transferable in any manner.

(3)

The permit shall state that the permit holder, property owner, and proprietor accept the prevailing site conditions with regard to ambience, including loading and passenger zones and/or automobile traffic and its consequential exhaust fumes, noise, and pedestrian generation. Prior to the issuance of a permit, the applicant shall furnish the director of the department of development with a signed statement and the permit holder shall hold harmless the city-parish, its officers, agents and employees and shall defend and indemnify the city-parish, its officers, agents and employees for any claims for damages to property or injury to any person which may be occasioned by any activity carried on under the terms of the permit.

(4)

The permit may be suspended by the director of the city-parish when necessary to clear sidewalk areas for a "community or special event" authorized by a permit issued by the city-parish. The notification of suspension shall list the date, time, and estimated duration of such closure.

(5)

Along parade routes and during special events where crowd control is likely to be necessary, sidewalk café hours shall be scheduled and allowed to operate in accordance with crowd control procedures established by the police department. The police department shall have the authority to order the clearing of all tables and chairs from the sidewalk by the permit holder in accordance with crowd control needs.

(6)

The police department, fire department or other emergency service personnel representing the city-parish may require the immediate removal or relocation of all or parts of the sidewalk café in emergency situations.

(7)

The city-parish may require the temporary removal of sidewalk cafés when street, sidewalk, or utility repairs necessitate such action.

(8)

The city-parish and its officers and employees and/or private or public utility companies, their officers and employees shall not be responsible for sidewalk café components relocated during emergencies.

(9)

The sidewalk café shall be confined to the area shown on the drawing submitted by the permit holder. The permit shall be specifically limited to the area shown on the drawing attached to and made a part thereof.

(10)

The permit holder shall keep the sidewalk area not occupied by the sidewalk café free of obstruction at all times. Elements of the sidewalk café cannot obstruct passage along the sidewalk not permitted as a sidewalk café, or any building passageway. The permit holder shall use positive action to assure the use of the sidewalk in no way interferes with sidewalk users or limits their free and unobstructed passage.

(11)

The sidewalk area and the sidewalk café shall be in good repair and shall be maintained in a neat and orderly appearance at all times and the area shall be cleared of all debris on a periodic basis during the day, and again at the close of each business day. The permittee shall also be responsible for cleaning the ground or floor surface on which the sidewalk café is located and the gutter area immediately adjacent to the sidewalk café. Such cleaning shall include, but not be limited to hosing and pressure cleaning. In no event shall any debris from the sidewalk café be swept or hosed into gutters or storm drains. If the area covered by the permit is not maintained in a neat and orderly appearance after ten (10) days written notice, the city-parish may then take steps necessary to place the property in a neat and clean order and charge the permittee with the reasonable cost of repairs. Such action by the city-parish does not create a continuing obligation on the part of the city-parish to make further repairs or to maintain the property and does not create any liability against the city-parish for any damages to the property if such repairs were completed in good faith. A litter abatement program shall be adopted by each sidewalk café. A contact person shall be named to be notified in case of a violation.

(12)

A maximum of one A-frame sign shall be permitted per sidewalk café. The locations, size, and materials of the A-frame sign shall be approved by the Downtown Development District prior to the issuance of a sidewalk café permit, and the A-frame sign shall be shown on the sidewalk café site map. A-frame signs shall be restricted to the frontage of the licensed sidewalk café for which the permit is issued. A-frame signs shall comply with the following standards:

a.

Shall be no larger than four (4) feet in height and two (2) feet in width;

b.

Shall be kept in good condition;

c.

Shall be located within ten (10) feet of the sidewalk café's main entrance;

d.

Backdrop night lighting may be incorporated, but must be integrated within the A-frame sign and shielded to reduce glare.

(13)

No tables and chairs nor any other parts of the sidewalk café shall be attached, chained, or in any manner affixed to any tree, post, sign, or other streetscape fixtures, curb, or sidewalk within or near the permitted area.

(14)

The permit covers only the public sidewalk. Tables and chairs on private property are governed by other applicable regulations.

(15)

The issuance of a sidewalk café permit does not grant or infer vested rights to the use of the sidewalk area by the permit holder nor does it constitute a deed or grant of an easement by the city-parish. The city-parish retains the right to deny the issuance or continuation of a permit for noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(16)

No cooking or fire apparatus shall be allowed on the public sidewalk whether or not such area is permitted as a sidewalk café.

(17)

Food trays or carts, receptacles for waste and dirty dishes, trays or carts for linen and utensils, and cooking appliances shall not be placed or stored on any portion of the sidewalk area of a public street.

(18)

Tables, chairs, umbrellas, and other permissible objects placed within a sidewalk café shall be maintained in a clean appearance and remain in good repair at all times.

(19)

The sidewalk area shall not be painted or altered in any way without prior written approval of the director of the department of development.

(20)

The city-parish and/or its agents may schedule general cleaning and maintenance operations. If such work is scheduled, the city-parish and/or its agents shall give notification of its scheduled cleaning times, at least two (2) days in advance of such operations, to all sidewalk café permit holders. Each permit holder, in the affected area, shall remove all portions of the sidewalk café operations so that they do not inhibit the scheduled sidewalk cleaning, repair, and/or maintenance operations.

(21)

All property/building ingress and egress where a sidewalk café exists must remain unobstructed (including queuing lines) for clear, barrier-free pedestrian passage, consistent with the fire department regulations and ANSI standards for barrier-free access. Queuing space proportional to the seating capacity of the sidewalk café shall be provided within the legal boundaries of the property to which the sidewalk café is adjacent.

(22)

Raised platforms and/or flooring of any kind, in association with a sidewalk café, are not permitted to be placed on the sidewalk at any time.

(23)

Accessways between the indoor and outdoor dining areas shall remain unobstructed, excepting swinging doors which shall remain operable during the simultaneous hours of operation of the indoor restaurant and outdoor sidewalk café.

(24)

All costs incurred and associated with the necessary installation, maintenance and repairs of the sidewalk, as required herein, shall be incurred by the permit holder and/or the proprietor of the sidewalk café.

(25)

All repairs and maintenance to the sidewalk that may become necessary shall be done in a timely manner to protect the health, safety and welfare of the general population using the sidewalk. If such repairs are not done in a timely manner, then the city-parish and/or its agents may perform such necessary repairs or cause them to be performed, and charge the permit holder a penalty fee and the cost of such repairs.

(26)

A sidewalk café permit holder may serve alcoholic beverages within the sidewalk café area if the permit holder has a class "R" permit from the alcohol beverage control office and the sidewalk café area has been approved by the director of the department of development and the director of the Downtown Development District and is clearly defined. If an alcoholic beverage is served to a patron, the patron must be advised that he is not allowed to leave the sidewalk café area with the alcoholic beverage, except to go inside the premises.

(Ord. No. 12006, § 1, 4-25-01; Ord. No. 12858, § 1, 2-11-04; Ord. No. 16361, § 1, 10-26-16)