[Adopted 6-23-1999 by Ord. No. 28-99]
[Amended 4-25-2006 by Ord. No. 11-06]
Sidewalk cafes and restaurants may be established in any commercial zone. However, no such use shall be permitted on any property immediately adjacent to a residential use unless the cafe/restaurant was established prior to the residential use. No person shall establish, maintain, own or operate a sidewalk cafe/restaurant nor serve food, liquor or other beverages on any public street, sidewalk, boardwalk, promenade or alleyway without first having obtained a license from the Clerk of the City of Long Branch. It shall be a prerequisite to the issuance of any license under this section that the applicant have a valid mercantile license for restaurant/food services in the City of Long Branch.
An application for a sidewalk cafe license shall be available on a form to be issued by the Clerk of the City. Once a completed application is received by the Clerk with the appropriate fee, it shall be forwarded to the Director of Public Safety, who shall conduct an investigation into the data contained in the application.
A. 
The Director shall review the application to assess issues of public safety, including but not limited to pedestrian access and movement, access and movement of emergency personnel, effect on motor vehicle traffic flows, impact on fire zones, impact on local residents, if any, appropriateness of design, the business record of the applicant, any proposed structures to be erected on the public sidewalks and public safety, health and welfare considerations. The application shall include a drawing submitted by the applicant depicting the area to be utilized, the layout proposed and dimensions thereof, as well as proximity to the curb, street and neighboring properties. The Director shall also obtain a report from the City Health Department as to whether appropriate food storage, sanitary conditions, adequate restroom facilities and waste disposal procedures are available and in place prior to issuance of a license. The Public Safety Director shall issue or deny the license as in his or her unlimited discretion as he or she deems appropriate. If the applicant is in possession of a license to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises, as part of this application the applicant must submit to the City Council an amended plan for the retail consumption of alcoholic beverages on a sidewalk and seek the appropriate extension of the license to cover the sidewalk area if alcoholic beverages are to be served in that area. If the applicant holds a retail alcohol license or if the applicant wishes to allow patrons to bring their own alcohol for consumption within the cafe premises, the applicant must submit a plan to put in a barrier, i.e. planters, fencing or the like, acceptable to the Public Safety Director in his sole discretion, to separate and segregate the area in which the alcoholic beverages are to be sold and/or consumed from areas traversed by the general public. The Director shall make his or her findings and recommendations, if any, within 30 days of the Director's receipt of the application.
B. 
An applicant who is denied a license by the Director may appeal the decision of the Director to the Mayor and Council of the City of Long Branch. Said appeal must be received in writing by the Clerk of the City of Long Branch within seven days of the denial of the application by the Director of Public Safety. The Mayor and Council may then consider the appeal, taking into consideration the findings of the Director, the issues taken into consideration by the Director and any other relevant information. The Mayor and Council may affirm or overrule the Director's decision in their unlimited discretion as they deem appropriate.
C. 
Both the Director of Public Safety or the Mayor and Council of the City of Long Branch, whichever may grant an application for such a license, may impose any restrictions or conditions deemed necessary in the sole discretion of the Director or the Mayor and Council should an appeal come before them.
D. 
No license shall be issued until an approval by the Director of Public Safety is received by the Clerk of the City of Long Branch or a resolution of the Mayor and Council overruling the Public Safety Director in granting the issuance of a license shall have been adopted by a majority vote of the Mayor and Council of the City of Long Branch.
Any persons submitting an application for a sidewalk cafe or restaurant shall submit an application fee in the amount of $50 with said application. Should an application be approved by the Director of Public Safety or the Mayor and Council of the City by resolution, as specified in § 181-16D of this article, the applicant shall pay an annual licensing fee in the amount of $25 for one to four tables; $50 for five to eight tables; and $100 for more than eight tables utilized for said sidewalk cafe restaurants.
[Amended 12-11-2024 by Ord. No. 23-24]
Any and all licenses issued pursuant to the terms of this article shall permit sidewalk cafe operations to begin no earlier than March 1. Any and all sidewalk cafe operations so established shall terminate no later than November 30 of the year in which the permit is issued.
Any license for a sidewalk cafe issued pursuant to the terms of this article shall be renewed annually in the discretion of the Director of Public Safety or, on appeal, the Mayor and Council of the City of Long Branch.
Any person violating any provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six months or by a fine not exceeding $500, or both in the discretion of the court.
A. 
Any person obtaining a license for a sidewalk cafe or restaurant shall submit, for the protection of the City of Long Branch and its representatives, as well as the general public, a comprehensive policy of liability insurance protecting the licensee and the City of Long Branch against any liability whatsoever occasioned by accident on or about licensed property or any appurtenances thereto. This policy shall be written by a good and solvent insurance company or companies authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey, and the limits of liability shall not be less than the amount of $1,000,000 in respect of any one person and in the amount of $1,000,000 in the respect of any one accident or occurrence.
B. 
Prior to the time such insurance is first required to be carried by the sidewalk cafe license holder and thereafter, at least 15 days prior to the expiration of any such policy, the licensee agrees to deliver to the City Clerk a certified true copy of the aforesaid comprehensive liability policy naming the City of Long Branch as an additional insured and including an endorsement that such insurance policy may not be modified or canceled except upon 30 days' written notice to the City; the licensee shall also deliver to the City Clerk evidence of payment for the policy. The licensee shall promptly provide, at the request of the City from time to time, certification or other proof acceptable to the City that the insurance policy is in good standing and in full force and effect.
C. 
Failure of the licensee to obtain and maintain insurance pursuant to the requirements of this section shall result in the immediate closure of the sidewalk cafe or restaurant by City officials and the termination of the license held by the licensee.