Oneida County looks to loosen zoning & liqueur laws, promote outdoor restaurant & retail services By Luke Perry

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente called for accommodations for municipalities to modify local zoning laws to increase outdoor retail sales and restaurant seating capacity.

Picente told Talk of the Town (WUTQ in Utica) the county must consider “ways that we can help these businesses that have been shuttered for so long and are going to have a hard time ramping back up, especially if the requirement of 25 percent capacity starts.”

“We have to look at different ways we can restart the economy,” Picente said, “and restart the psyche of people to get them back out and about comfortably.” Picente believes this “is all about putting measures in place.”   

Oneida County’s Restaurant and Retail Rescue Plan seeks to adjust zoning regulations to allow businesses to provide services outside as well as inside. “That increases their capacity in terms of what they can do,” Picente said. Picente pointed to small villages, such as Clinton, where this could work well.  

Photo from Oneida County Executive’s Office

Many cities around the country have closed and repurposed streets during the pandemic to create more public spaces for residents. Oakland, California, for instance, has implemented “soft closures” of over 20 miles of neighborhood streets.  

Picente will visit with local governments this week about suspending zoning laws and open container laws to help local businesses provide more services outside.

“It can be wide ranging or it can be on a narrow scope,” Picente explained. Streets could be temporally closed certain evenings or weekends to help people spread out.

Picente described the situation as “dire.” An estimated 30 to 40 percent of small restaurants in Oneida County will not survive. Communities need to find “creative ways” to help these businesses survive.   

Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College