LCO No. 4217 1 of 2
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6610
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4217
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E PROVISION OF OUTDO OR FOOD AND
BEVERAGE SERVICE BY RESTAURANTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For the purposes of this 1
section, "food establishment" means a food establishment that is 2
licensed or permitted to operate pursuant to section 19a-36i of the 3
general statutes, and "municipality" has the same meaning as provided 4
in section 8-1a of the general statutes. 5
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, special act, 6
municipal charter or ordinance, the zoning commission of each 7
municipality shall allow any licensee or permittee of a food 8
establishment operating in such municipality to engage in outdoor food 9
and beverage service as an accessory use of such food establishment's 10
permitted use. Such accessory use shall be allowed as of right, subject 11
only to any required administrative site plan review to determine 12
conformance with zoning requirements not contemplated by this 13
section. 14
(c) Any such licensee or permittee may engage in outdoor food and 15 Raised Bill No. 6610
LCO No. 4217 2 of 2
beverage service (1) on public sidewalks and other pedestrian pathways 16
abutting the area permitted for principal use and on which vehicular 17
access is not allowed, (A) provided a pathway the length of the lot upon 18
which the area permitted for principal use is located, and not less than 19
six feet in width, not including any area on a street or highway, shall 20
remain unobstructed for pedestrian use, and (B) subject to reasonable 21
conditions imposed by the municipal official or agency that issues right-22
of-way or obstruction permits; (2) on off-street parking spaces 23
associated with the permitted use, notwithstanding any municipal 24
ordinance establishing minimum requirements for off-street parking; (3) 25
on any lot, yard, court or open space abutting the area permitted for 26
principal use, provided (A) such lot, yard, court or open space is located 27
in a zoning district where the operation of food establishments is 28
permitted, and (B) the licensee or permittee obtains written 29
authorization to engage in such service from the owner of such lot, yard, 30
court or open space and provides a copy of such authorization to the 31
zoning commission; and (4) until 9 o'clock p.m., or a time established by 32
the zoning regulations of the municipality, whichever is later. 33
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require municipal zoning commissions to permit restaurants to
engage in outdoor food and beverage service as an accessory use of such
restaurant's permitted use.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]