Danville Makes Downtown Parklets Permanent, Caps Them at 12 Spaces

Danville's pandemic-era outdoor dining experiment is becoming permanent, but with a hard ceiling. The Town Council voted 5-0 to introduce an ordinance and adopt design standards that cap parklets at 12 on-street spaces, require annual leases and effectively halve parking fees for on-site patios. Meanwhile, a bloc of St. David Drive neighbors pressed the council to fix a 72-hour parking rule they say police cannot enforce.

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• Parklets go permanent: A 5-0 vote caps them at 12 on-street spaces. Second reading is Oct. 20.
• Patio parking fees cut in half: On-site seating fees are now assessed at 1 space per 200 square feet.
• Neighbors push a 72-hour parking fix, and Councilmember Morgan asks for a study session.
• Police chief says Flock data stays in California and is not shared with federal agencies.

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Outdoor Dining Gets Permanent Rules and a Hard Cap

1 big thing: Restaurants that rely on curbside dining now have a permanent framework. Supply is frozen at today's level.

Why it matters: Temporary outdoor seating guidelines expire Jan. 2, 2027. The new rules decide which restaurants keep or get parklets and what on-site patios cost.

"These current guidelines that are in place today do expire on January 2nd of next year," said Riley Anderson-Barrett, Planner. The proposal came after multiple study sessions and a Planning Commission recommendation.

The basics: In-lieu parking fees are payments businesses make instead of providing required parking spaces. Today, restaurants may seat outdoors up to 100% of their interior floor area without paying those fees.

Where things stand: Ordinance 2026-04 and Resolution 79-2026 set these rules:

• Parklets are capped at the 12 on-street spaces they occupy now.
• New applicants join an interest list ordered by date received, subject to eligibility.
• Each parklet requires an annual lease covering maintenance and terms.
• Parklets inactive three or more consecutive months between March and November may be removed. Reinstating one requires a new land use permit.
• Businesses qualify only if they cannot fit on-site seating equal to 50% of their gross interior floor area.
• New parklets are barred on Hartz Avenue, East and West Prospect, Railroad Avenue between Danville Boulevard and Linda Mesa, Front Street south of Diablo Road, and San Ramon Valley Boulevard.
• Alcohol in parklets requires council-approved partial street closures.

On-site seating beyond 25% of interior floor area will pay in-lieu fees at 1 space per 200 square feet, down from 1 per 100. "It effectively cuts your fee in half," said Newell Arnerich, Mayor. All seating areas also need custom design through a development plan and the Design Review Board.

The other side: Councilmember Karen Stepper raised concerns for existing operators. "I just didn't want to have them be surprised because you're saying in 6 months they could be asked to change things," she said. Staff said reviews would focus on crash barriers and flooring. "It wouldn't be a whole redo," Anderson-Barrett said.

Councilmember Renee Morgan pressed hardest. She worried the off-season window could excuse neglect. Staff said a high standard of maintenance is expected regardless. "There's a section that talks about maintaining it, and the maintaining it part doesn't exclude the winter months," said Rob Ewing, City Attorney.

Morgan also asked, "Can we set a timeline in there so that we can review this ordinance?" Ewing said parklets remain reviewable. "Parklets, they are use permits, and use permits can be revoked," he said. On-site seats already paid for through in-lieu fees, by contrast, are vested. Ewing added that lease payments over some years roughly equal the in-lieu fee.

Two public commenters asked questions. Jill Ribejo asked about the Linda Mesa restriction. Staff said the ban covers Railroad Avenue between Danville Boulevard and Linda Mesa. Randy Nagy asked about a permanent Railroad Avenue curb-out. Staff called it "a fairly significant capital improvement" outside this ordinance.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Vice Mayor Robert Storer moved the item, and it passed (For: 5, Against: 0, Absent: 0). Mayor Arnerich, Vice Mayor Storer and Councilmembers Morgan, Stepper and Mark Belotz voted yes.

Current parklet holders keep their spaces but must meet the new standards. Rancho Cantina, which just renovated its parklet, is one example. "They will need to revise it. They need to put in a crash barrier, and then we'll also look at their flooring," Anderson-Barrett said. Restaurants without parklets face a waitlist. Those expanding patios on-site pay less.

What's next: The ordinance returns for second reading Oct. 20, 2026.

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Neighbors Say the 72-Hour Rule Has No Teeth

Why it matters: Residents say vehicles sit on their streets for months because owners only need to nudge them to reset the clock.

Where things stand: Janet Hannah, a St. David Drive resident, said two cars sat in front of her house for more than two months. "We've called Danville PD frequently about the problem, but have been told that there isn't anything they can do about it with the current ordinance," she said. She described the loophole bluntly: "the 72 hours is meaningless because they can just move the car an inch."

Hannah noted that some California cities have ordinances addressing the problem. Mayor Arnerich then read the names of about a dozen supporters who submitted cards.

The other side: The mayor said the town's hands are largely tied. "But the 72 hours is state law. Yeah, we have no control over that," Arnerich said. He described "a tiny bit of room for a modification" tied to distance that is being considered. He also pointed neighbors to court remedies such as restraining orders and called the situation a public nuisance.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The council took no action because the item was not on the agenda. Morgan confirmed the cars were registered and said this was the first she had heard of the issue. "Is it also possible to recommend that we do bring this back, possibly to a study session to be able to review the ordinance as well?" she asked. Arnerich said code enforcement had made a similar recommendation.

What's next: Watch for the parking ordinance on a future study session agenda. No date was set.

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Police Chief Details Burglary Arrests, Defends Plate Readers

Why it matters: Automated license plate readers draw steady public concern. The council used the quarterly report to put data-sharing limits on the record.

Where things stand: Thomas Rossberg, Chief of Police, reported these 2026 year-to-date figures:

• About 5,300 dispatched calls
• 300 arrests
• 89 DUI arrests
• 2,800 volunteer hours

Danville also runs monthly saturation patrols with Lafayette and Orinda.

In the "Talking Baseball" burglary, $60,000 was stolen and four people were arrested. "The district attorney's office said that the investigation was a 12 out of a 10," Rossberg said. He confirmed one suspect was also charged with filing a false police report.

On Sept. 1, burglars hit 14 businesses. A Tri-Valley crew has been tied to the spree, and two people were arrested. "None of those businesses had alarms on their businesses," the chief said.

The other side: "We always get questions on Flock," said Vice Mayor Storer. Rossberg said the data belongs to Danville. "We do share it with other California law enforcement state agencies, not federal agencies," he said. Every lookup requires a justification and is logged. The system does no facial recognition, and the department self-audits quarterly. Arnerich credited protocols developed over 18 months.

On e-bikes, Rossberg put the ticket-to-warning ratio at about 1-to-1. "We don't make money off of tickets. We get $7 to $9 a ticket," Arnerich said.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: No action was required. Business owners heard a pointed lesson on alarms. Residents learned that Live Scan fingerprinting has returned, and Morgan asked staff to publicize it in town newsletters.

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Minor Items

• Consent calendar passed 5-0, including Resolution 77-2026, a contract with Inspired ADUs, Inc. for permit-ready ADU plans funded by the Senate District 7 ADU Accelerator Program.
• Resolution 78-2026 funds a third-party review of the stormwater and hydrology analyses for the Martin Hills Ranch project (PUD 24-0002, SD 9679).
• Eleven commission seats are open, including Planning, Design Review and Heritage Resource. Apply by Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at danville.ca.gov/commissionrecruitment.
• Town Manager Tai Williams said 198 Diablo's new plans "differ greatly" from 2018 approvals. The Gilmore Girls fan festival, Oct. 23–26, is capped at 5,000 visitors a day.
• October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Bisa French, Executive Director, Family Justice Center, urged referrals to the center's new Danville site, its first in South County.

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Looking Ahead

The outdoor seating ordinance returns Oct. 20, when Williams also proposed a council site visit to the Diablo Road Trail. The Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission expects the new pavilion by next spring and the makerspace in fall 2027. The council adjourned to closed session on Mehran v. County of Contra Costa; no outcome was reported.