LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) — Since the start of the pandemic, San Diegans have been flocking to outdoor dining.
However, a new restriction could jeopardize many beach-area streetaries.
Wednesday, the California Coastal Commission approved making parklets permanent for restaurants near the beach.
However, public parking must be replaced with an equivalent number of no-cost parking spots on-site or through a shared parking agreement with another business.
During the meeting, a staff report stated streetaries could impede beach access in high-traffic areas where parking is already scarce.
"We started in 2018, my son and I," said Nader Hamdan.
Hamdan and his son own Scoops La Jolla, an ice cream shop in the La Jolla Shores area.
Like many businesses, Hamdan created additional outdoor dining during the pandemic to stay afloat.
"Without this [parklet], it would've been really, really bad for us, so it helped a lot," Hamdan said.
"We're serving more people than we've ever served pre-pandemic," said restaurateur Darren Moore.
Moore admits parking has always been limited in the area but believes the streetaries aren't the issue.
"The parking that we've taken is a commercial parking space that's basically 90 minutes, so that's historically not beach parking," Moore said.
He's still trying to figure out how businesses can create additional parking spaces.
"I would say [I] feel good that we got the blessing to move forward. I certainly think there needs to be some dialogue on honestly obtaining additional parking," Moore said.
