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pedestrian environment. However, they may occupy parking spaces, with a <br /> corresponding potential impact on parking supply. Within downtown there is a high <br /> demand for on-street parking, and maintaining a robust parking supply continues to be a <br /> significant policy priority for the City. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> 1. Timing for Temporary Pop-Up Removal <br /> Pop-ups are currently permitted through Labor Day (September 6, 2021), after which <br /> point, they will be required to be removed. Staff has received a few requests from <br /> existing pop-up operators to continue to be allowed to operate after this date, although <br /> staff has not yet issued any authorizations to do so. Conversely, staff has also heard <br /> directly from downtown retailers that pop-ups are adversely impacting their businesses; <br /> they particularly want to maximize on-street parking and visual sightlines to their <br /> storefronts during the fall leasing into the holiday season. <br /> With respect to other agencies' actions around temporary outdoor dining, the State of <br /> California recently extended the ability for restaurants, bars, breweries etc. to continue <br /> to serve alcoholic drinks in areas like Pleasanton's pop-ups (i.e., expansion of their <br /> licensed footprint) through the end of the year. Several other communities (e.g., Danville <br /> and Walnut Creek) are considering or have formally decided to extend their temporary <br /> pop-up/outdoor dining programs to support business recovery post-pandemic, and <br /> because they have been similarly popular among residents and business owners. <br /> Nonetheless, and in recognition of some of the concerns and impacts raised, Staff <br /> recommends ending the temporary pop-up program on September 6, 2021, to coincide <br /> with the end of the Weekend on Main weekend street closures. However, staff is <br /> requesting that Council offer policy direction in this regard — for example, it may be <br /> appropriate to extend the program through the end of October to take advantage of <br /> typically good weather during this period, as well as the later date of the Alameda <br /> County Fair that brings increased visitors to downtown'. Staff does not recommend <br /> allowing the popups to remain in place beyond the end of October, due to conflicts with <br /> Main Street parades and holiday events typically scheduled in November and <br /> December. <br /> 2. Downtown Parklet Program <br /> As the community emerges from COVID-19 restrictions, the City Council has an <br /> opportunity to reset public right-of-way conditions to that which previously existed or <br /> explore opportunities to envision the public space slightly differently. Although several <br /> cities have found the expansion of outdoor dining etc. into the public right-of-way to be a <br /> positive change and have decided to allow these programs to continue, staff <br /> recommends discontinuation of Pleasanton's temporary pop-up program within the next <br /> few months, due to its somewhat ad-hoc nature and aesthetic concerns. <br /> ' Of note, the Weekend on Main temporary street closure is slated to end on September 6,2021;this end date is not <br /> proposed to be extended even if the Council determines that the pop-ups may remain beyond this date. <br /> Page 3 of 6 <br />