Temporary Off-premises Outdoor Dining & Seating Areas
Beginning Friday, May 29th, bars and restaurants in Illinois were able to begin serving customers in outdoor dining and seating areas. This third phase of reopening allows outdoor service provided that social distancing and other measures are implemented to minimize the risks associated with COVID 19. On June 26th, we moved into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan, which allowed indoor dining to resume with limitations on capacity. However, effective on August 26th, Region 7 (Will and Kankakee Counties) were subject to mitigations that include prohibiting indoor dining.
Shorewood Bars and Restaurants which currently have outdoor dining areas, may operate starting Friday, May 29th provided that they are able to meet all of the requirements.
In an effort to help those businesses which do not have outdoor patios and those businesses which would like to expand their outdoor patios, the Village Board has approved a Temporary Outdoor Dining & Seating Permit. Restaurants and bars that are insterested in obtaining a permit should file this application. The review will be expedited by staff and all fees will be waived in order to help you to move forward with reopening.
Temporary Outdoor Dining / Seating Permit Application
General Information
Regulations
Operations
Restaurants and bars must operate in accordance with the guidance of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Illinois Public Health Department (IDPH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and any other applicable public health agency. (Links to these agencies informational brochures are located at the top of this page.)
Applicants must submit an operations plan explaining how they will meet and/or exceed these guidelines. Paste your Operations Plan below and/or upload a copy of your Operations Plan. (If you plan to simply abide by the State regulations, you may consider their guidelines to be your plan.) Be sure to also identify how you intend to address customers waiting to be seated, as this is not included in the State's guidelines.
Parking & Circulation
Upload a parking and circulation plan for your site showing the temporary modification to the parking lot as well as the location of tents, canopies, and fences/barriers. (The plan will be used to help the staff to evaluate the application but does not need to be very formal. A simple hand drawn sketch or a marked-up aerial is appropriate.)
Dining & Seating
Upload a general dining / seating plan demonstrating the layout of the tables and chairs. Please dimension the tables and the distance between tables. (The plan will be used to help the staff to evaluate the application but does not need to be very formal. A simple hand drawn sketch or a marked-up aerial is appropriate.)
Sale of Liquor
Village Liquor Licenses that allow on-premises consumption may be extended to include the temporary outdoor dining and seating area. The business must be able to follow all ordinance requirements, including the requirements for barriers between the seating area and vehicular circulation/parking to delineate the temporary outdoor dining/seating area and the submittal of an updated Certificate of Insurance covering the outdoor dining and seating area and listing the Village as additionally-insured.
If serving liquor, upload a plan showing barriers here.
Other Documentation
Temporary Structure: If using a canopy or tent, provide a cut sheet and identify how you will secure the structure.
Temporary Lighting: If you are using temporary exterior lighting, provide applicable cut sheets and identify where you are connecting to.
Authorization from Others
Property Owner Authorization: If applicant is not the property owner, please upload a letter from the property owner authorizing you to proceed with the application and indicating that they have approved the location, size and definition of the temporary outdoor storage area.
Affected Businesses Authorization: If the outdoor dining/seating area is located in from of another business’s tenant space, provide a letter from the affected business owner approving the proposed location.
Permit Terms
Permit Expiration: Once approved, the permit will be valid while the Governor has restricted on-premises dining to anything less than full capacity. In the event that the Governor requires the closure of outdoor dining/seating areas again, all temporary outdoor dining/seating permits shall terminate.
Restoration: When restaurants and bars are permitted to be occupied at full capacity or upon expiration or termination of the permit, whichever occurs first, the area used for the temporary outdoor dining/seating shall be returned to its original use.
Form is currently unavailable for maintenance. Please call the Village Hall at 815-725-2150
If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Engel, Village Planner, at nengel@vil.shorewood.il.us or at 815.553.2314.