City Council moves to allow bars, restaurants and other business to operate in public spaces

Jun. 3--Bars, restaurants and retail and service businesses have been given the go-ahead by the Winona City Council to temporarily operate in public spaces near their businesses.

The reason behind this ordinance is to limit the spread of COVID-19, as people can now be positioned farther from each other.

Under the ordinance, businesses now have the option to request temporary street closures and use of public rights-of-way so they can sell goods, deliver services, create customer seating and provide other services.

City manager Steve Sarvi said that this new ordinance will not drive up liability insurance for business owners, stating the city has lowered the liability as low as it can.

Section 4 of the ordinance contains a number of restrictions and requirements for businesses hoping to utilize public spaces, with noteworthy ones being that a business must preserve a minimum of five feet in width for pedestrian traffic on sidewalks, not block any disability ramps or parking spaces, must ordain personal property with bright, highly visible partitions and others.

Further requirements stipulate that reservations must be made, businesses are only allowed to use these public spaces from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the week, no more than 50 people are allowed to be seated at one time and both visitors and employees must wear masks.

In the motion presented to the council Monday, it is noted that there is a limit to how far a business can encroach upon public rights-of-way to sidewalks and adjoining parking spaces, with the city stating that a businesses is allowed to utilize spaces up to the width of the business building, or farther dependent on neighbor permission.

The duration of the ordinance is expected to go through Nov. 1 or through the end of the state of local emergency passed by the council on March 16, whichever is later.

Councilmember George Borzyskowski expressed approval of the ordinance.

"All of these restaurants and the pubs ... and the 501©(3)'s that benefit from these places are all hurting," Borzyskowski said. "This is definitely a good move forward."

Borzyskowski also inquired about how business owners will be notified of the ordinance, with city clerk Monica Hennessy Mohan mentioning that an application for businesses to fill out is on the city website. The Winona Area Chamber of Commerce is also said to be notifying businesses of the ordinance.

Hennessy Mohan mentioned that those who do not have the internet can have the application printed out and schedule a meeting with the city for approval.

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