City Council members are dueling over how best to legalize sidewalk cafes in historic Annapolis, reviving a fight that polarized the panel as it planned the Main Street reconstruction project.
Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins has introduced a conservative measure that would allow sidewalk cafes with sharp restrictions while Ward 8 Alderman Ellen O. Moyer wants to replace it with language more friendly to restaurant owners.
"I think the mayor's bill is prohibitive," Ms. Moyer said yesterday. "It's anti-business, and it's really anti-sidewalk cafe."
The Economic Matters Committee last night unanimously approved changes to the mayor's bill, making it easier for restaurant owners to establish sidewalk cafes.
The changes were sponsored by Ms. Moyer.
Mr. Hopkins said he wonders why Ms. Moyer and other council members are in such a hurry to approve outdoor dining when it is largely untested in the city.
While he says he supports the cafes, his bill would make it more difficult for businesses to expand outdoors.
"I'm not so sure that we are used to handling a sidewalk cafe lifestyle," Mr. Hopkins said. "If you're sitting out there and you look across the street and you see somebody you know and you say, 'Hey, Joe, I want to see you,' you take whatever you have in your hand and you go across the street.
"You could get hurt."
Mr. Hopkins' bill is the first to take up the issue of sidewalk cafes since the controversy last fall over Main Street reconstruction.
Plans to widen sidewalks along the street were --ed after downtown residents and historic preservationists said the new design made too much room for cafes.
Main Street will keep its original design, with only slightly wider sidewalks.
Some council members believe there is still enough room for outdoor cafes and want to encourage businesses to expand to the street.
Aldermen J. Shepard Tullier of Ward 4, M. Theresa DeGraff of Ward 7 and Carl O. Snowden of Ward 8 have signed onto the mayor's bill, but momentum is growing to secure a measure with fewer restrictions on restaurants.
Under the mayor's bill, restaurant owners would have to spend as much as $4,300 for separate liquor licenses and conditional use permits for outdoor facilities.
They would have one year from the time the bill takes effect to apply for cafe zoning, after which the law would expire unless the council renewed it.
All cafes would be forbidden to use paper and plastic table settings, would have to close by 10 p.m. and stow sidewalk furniture within 15 minutes of closing.
Ms. Moyer said she would eliminate the separate liquor license and conditional use permits, the one-year sunset provision on the bill and requirements she said allows the city to "micromanage" the restaurants.
But others ask if it is possible, along the cramped streets of downtown Annapolis, to establish sidewalk cafes. Council members are at odds over how much sidewalk space is necessary for a cafe.
Ms. Moyer contends sidewalk cafes will work well on the narrow streets as long as passers-by are left with 4 feet of sidewalk.
But Ward 1 Alderman Louise Hammond, who represents downtown residents, argues that pedestrians need at least a 10-foot-wide walkway.
Ms. Hammond noted that no matter what legislation is adopted, the council still must approve each sidewalk cafe application individually. Given that the ultimate decision on the applications rests in the council's hands, Ms. Hammond said the bill legalizing cafes should be as conservative as possible.
"I think a lot of thought has gone into this legislation," she said. "I don't think we should amend it to death."