MONROE — City officials are debating whether to charge a much bigger fee for businesses to operate a “streatery” on the square — essentially an open-air dining area set up in the downtown parking spaces.
Currently, there is only one such “streatery” in town, operated by Baumgartner’s, but city officials say they would like to see others operate in the downtown square area.
Yet there also have been some complaints, officials said, that private businesses are using public spaces for free, or at an artificially low fee compared to what the businesses make from the outdoor space.
During the Oct. 9 city Taxation and Finance Committee meeting, Ald. Chris Schindler recommended that the city charge an annual fee of as much as $600 per stall for a permit that allows a “streatery.” Currently, the city charges a modest $150 for an initial review of an application, with a $50 annual renewal fee.
“I have heard from a lot of different people that they (“streatery” operators) were getting free real estate,” said Ald. Richard Thoman, who chairs the committee.
He added that other business owners have mentioned that the need for parking close to storefronts is critical, and that outdoor dining makes the parking problem worse downtown.
City administrator Brittney Rindy initially said the city could increase the fee to $100 per parking space used. The existing “streatery” operated by Baumgartner’s, for example, uses five parking spots on a seasonal basis.
“In years past the city had charged a monthly fee for public parking stalls at a rate of $75 per stall,”
Rindy said, in her memo to the city council. “If you consider increasing that to $100 for inflation, we could increase the fee to be $100/parking space utilized by the Streatery.”
She also recommended increasing the initial review fee to $250.
Ald. Heidi Treuthardt said that she does not feel the city is giving away public property because other businesses use sidewalk space for various promotions and sidewalk cafes.
“The argument that someone’s getting something for nothing can go both ways here,” she said.
And Ald. Mary Jane Grenzow said the city should be careful not to charge too much, given the positive impact such amenities offer to the downtown scene.
“We are doing exactly the right thing…by encouraging people to come downtown,” she said. “I just don’t see (parking) to be a huge problem.”
Grenzow also said she might consider a graduated increase in the fee to give businesses time to adjust to a new fee structure.
Ultimately, Rindy and the committee agreed to table the issue in the short term, in favor of studying how other communities handle such fees. Any new fee structure would not be put in place until at least 2024 — following approval of the committee and the common council.
“It feels like we are shooting in the dark right now,” Grenzow said, adding that she also supports studying the fee before imposing a change.
Sidewalk cafes and streatery-type dining became much more common during the COVID-19 epidemic, when restaurants were seeking alternatives to crowded indoor dining spaces.