El Paseo restaurants could see rule changes for street side patios in 2026
Kendall Flynn
PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Desert City Council has been discussing the fate of streetside patios along El Paseo, something that restaurants added during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Now, the city council has declined to adopt rule changes for the outdoor dining decks as the suggestion faced pushback from numerous eateries along the shopping district.
The restaurants where forced to remove their outdoor patios because of a $4.8 million project for roadway rehabilitation along El Paseo, all at the expense of the owners. Now they say the new rule changes would be backtracking on what the City had told them before the construction, as they were told patios could return after construction.
The new changes would require restaurants to redevelop their outdoor seating to be on the sidewalk rather than within street parking limits. Many owners and managers said this would be an added cost as they would have to redevelop their patio.
Currently multiple restaurants are storing their street side patio parts to rebuild them starting in October, once street construction is done. However, there’s a chance they could rebuild and then have to take then down entirely again in June 2026 if the rules change.
The Palm Desert City Council will now wait until California State Legislature revisits AB-969. The law passed during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for alcohol sales and consumption along public sidewalks and streets in entertainment zones.
The Palm Desert City Council passed the Outdoor Dining Deck Program around the same time as the law to permit businesses to build outdoor patios. The program has the same expiration date as the law in June 2026.
City officials are looking for a more permanent solution to the streetside seating, but they will currently return this fall to El Paseo. The City will revisit the conversation ahead of the projects possible expiration.
Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from restaurant owners and the City about the ongoing decision.