SAN DIEGO — A restaurant and a salon on Beech Street in South Park are being told by the city to remove their outdoor space by Monday or pay a $1,000 fine.
The permit allowing the outdoor space was temporarily approved during COVID. Now the city says it's interfering with the bus line and they'd like to return a few parking spots to this much needed area.
Heather Northcote is the co-owner of Goldline Salon in South Park and said she loves utilizing their outdoor space.
"We built this space to have an outdoor space for our clients and our community," she said.
At the height of COVID, the sidewalk was her salon. The City approved permits to help businesses survive. So like many restaurants, they built an outdoor bonus space and would like to keep it.
"People are enjoying a glass of wine, while waiting for their dinner, kids are playing. We've just made this corner really valuable for our neighborhood," Northcote said.
Her parklet takes up one parking spot. The outdoor seating next door at Buona Forchetta takes up three more.
"There's not a lot of parking around here, we understand that," she said.
But parking is only one reason the city is denying the permit to keep this outdoor space, which was designed to be just temporary. They say most importantly, it interferes with the bus line and poses a safety hazard for not only pedestrians, but motorists as well.
Permanent permits are also now only being considered for eating and drinking establishments.
Northcote is hoping for community support. She says the space serves as a symbol of survival of the pandemic. The City has suggested she apply for a separate permit to use the area as a pedestrian plaza.
"I do have a little fight left. I love the City. We're asking for compassion."
The streetery and parklet are set to return to street parking, but for Heather, the city's argument doesn't make sense. She says whether it's outdoor dining, or parked cars, it takes up the same amount of space from the bus stop.
"The next step is we take it down by Monday, or get fined a thousand dollars a week and we can't afford that," Northcote added.
So come Monday, this space will look a whole lot different.
The parklet will likely be taken down and Buona Forchetta next door will get to keep their sidewalk seating, but they are surrendering the space in the street.
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