Sidewalk Café/Outdoor Seating

To request this information or any documents noted below in a different format or language, please send a request to sidewalks@cityofvancouver.us.

Outdoor seating, whether in sidewalk cafes, parklets or street eateries, increases the use of a city’s public space, expands business activity and ultimately, adds vitality to an area.

A Sidewalk Café Seating permit allows businesses to move or supplement their indoor dining with outdoor set ups, such as locating chairs and tables or other approved furnishings along sidewalks and in some locations on-street parking areas.

To apply for a permit business owners will need to email the following to sidewalks@cityofvancouver.us:

Sidewalk Café/Seating Application (PDF)
Site Plan – Example template (PDF)
Certificate of Liability Insurance – Example (PDF)
Hold Harmless Agreement – Example template (PDF)

Main Street 5^th to 15^th Street Specific Standards

In line with the project goals of Main Street Promise to both support businesses along the corridor and to increase safety, standards specific to the area were defined. These additional requirements will help support the Transportation Mobility Commission and Council approved goals for the project. Project goals include:

Creating space with an emphasis on the pedestrian experience
Use of curbless design that allows for unimpeded mobility
Connected infrastructure that supports Main Street businesses
An attractive, coordinated, and quality downtown environment

Design Definitions – Three Sidewalk Zones

As part of the design, the sidewalk area from the building to the street were defined by three separate zones.

Building Frontage Zone

Use – allows for sidewalk cafés and railings (must be entirely within the Building Frontage Zone including the bases of the railing)

Adjacent to the front of buildings
Identified by larger, dark gray pavers

Pedestrian Zone

Use – dedicated exclusively to unencumbered pedestrian access

6-foot minimum wide area between the Building Frontage and Furnishing Zone
Identified by standard concrete section

Furnishing Zone

Use – public amenities including small tables, artwork, bike racks, trees and lighting

Between the concrete Pedestrian Zone and the street
Identified by red brick-type pavers

Private sidewalk cafés will not be allowed in the Furnishing Zone other than in limited exceptions. Applicants must meet the following criteria:

Business frontage, or effective frontage due to obstructions, is 20 feet or less.
Proposed seating in the Furnishing Zone shall be fence free and not within 2 feet of a door opening in the parking area.
Tables and chairs shall be movable, and if chained to something, the chain cannot extend across the pedestrian zone.
Furnishings will be reviewed and approved as part of the sidewalk café approval process and shall generally fit with the character of Main Street furnishings installed with the Main Street Promise project.
Customers are not allowed to remain in the Pedestrian Zone except to travel to and from the dedicated sidewalk café in the Furnishing Zone.
Exemptions only apply to food and drink establishments that existed at the time of the Main Street Promise project. If the business use of a space changes from retail to food post construction, the exemption will not apply.
The exemption will apply if there is a change in business name or ownership from one food and drink establishment to another food and drink establishment.

Street Eateries and Parklets

Street eateries and parklets will no longer be available once the Main Street Promise construction is completed. In addition to supporting unimpeded mobility, this will facilitate use of the entire street during short-term closures for special events and activities.