SANTA MONICA—On Wednesday, February 5 the city of Santa Monica announced on its website that to assist with impacts of the recent wildfires on local businesses, they waived its license fees for outdoor dining areas, sidewalk dining, parklets and pier deck extended dining for the month of February in a supplement to its Emergency Order in response to the Palisades Fire.
“The city is committed to supporting our local businesses, and as a small business owner, I understand firsthand how a disaster can reverberate across a business community,” said Mayor Lana Negrete. “Waiving outdoor dining fees this month can provide much needed relief as we recover, and I encourage everyone to support our local restaurants, shops, hotels and businesses and enjoy everything our beautiful city has to offer.”
At the moment, a total of 101 businesses are enrolled in the city’s outdoor dining programs, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic as a pilot program that became permanent in October 2022. Businesses can apply for the Sidewalk Dining or Outdoor Parklet programs. For more details on the city’s outdoor dining programs, click here.
“As a city, it’s important that we are responsive to our business community, and we heard from many of our restaurants about their severe loss of customers and overall sales due to the impacts of the fires,” said Economic Development Manager Jennifer Taylor. “We hope that by waiving the fees for a month, they’ll be able to get back on their feet and continue to benefit from these outdoor programs, which we know our community loves and enjoys.”
Santa Monica’s emergency proclamation in response to the wind and firestorm remains in place to ensure the continued support of regional wildfire recovery. The Emergency Order was updated on January 31 to provide additional flexibility for schools and businesses impacted or displaced by the wildfires and to refine criteria for housing support for fire victims.
For details and resources for businesses impacted by the regional fires, click here.
By Trevor