Restaurant owners who have relied on tents for outdoor seating
areas to stay in business during the pandemic are now facing a new rule, and
possibly another expense – they
must get permits for the tents, which will also have to
be ready to take on snow.
In Belmar, mayor Mark
Walsifer tells News 12 the town will be waving it's permit fees, but
it's the safety of the tents, and the handling of snow and ice that comes into
question.
“When the ice and snow comes, it's heavy, and
that's what our construction officials were worried about,” says Mayor Walsifer.
Walsifer says his
construction officials began discussing the safety of using the tents in winter
a couple of months ago, long before the New Jersey Department of Community
Affairs told restaurant owners that due to winter weather conditions, a UCC
PERMIT from the local construction office is required to maintain tents in use
past Nov. 30.
“We will probably end up
waiving all the fees because of hardships and we're trying to really work with
our businesses to keep them going,” says Mayor Walsifer. “We don't want to see
anybody go out of business. It's a tough time for everybody."
Waiving
the fee with help, but Rasheed Simmons, who owns Simply Southern in Belmar,
says he will
still have to foot the bill for an architect and engineer to write up a plan
for a tent that is bolted to the ground, has been in use for months and has
withstood several 50 mph wind storms this summer.
“The main thing is that we
get an engineering report from the tent manufacturer for somebody to just take
a look at it just to satisfy us that with the heavy snow and ice it's not going
to collapse,” says Mayor
Walsifer.
Which towns will charge
restaurants permit fees will depend on each town’s local government. Belmar
doesn't plan too, and East Brunswick says it won't. Asbury Park says they're
still looking into it.