Chattanooga, TN Special Events & Permits: Parklets (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code Sec. 5-69
- Permit required from
- Transportation Department
- Barrier height
- 42 inches, all four sides
- Entrance width
- 48 to 60 inches
- Alcohol source
- Must be on establishment's own license
- Serving staff
- Establishment employees only
- Max penalty
- $500 per offense, Sec. 1-8
Summary
A "parklet café" is a restaurant or bar's expansion onto the public street right-of-way beside its premises, built for outdoor dining or drinking, and it requires a temporary use permit from Chattanooga's Transportation Department under City Code Sec. 5-69. A compliant parklet café is exempt from the city's general open-container rules, Sec. 5-87 and Sec. 5-105, letting alcohol be served in a defined outdoor space that would otherwise count as public sidewalk or street.
(a)A parklet café shall mean an expansion of a restaurant or bar (the, "establishment") creating an outdoor dining and/or drinking area on part of the public street right-of-way that immediately adjoins the premises for the purpose of consuming food or beverage prepared at the establishment adjacent thereto. A parklet café must obtain a temporary use permit from the Transportation Department.(b)Sections 5-87 and 5-105 of this Code shall not apply to a parklet café if the establishment complies with the following provisions:i.The area of the parklet café shall be clearly defined with a forty-two (42") inch high (measured from the street asphalt) sturdy barrier such as freestanding sectional fencing, rope, or chain erected on all four (4) sides.ii.The area of the parklet café shall have one (1) clear entrance opening to the sidewalk. The entrance to the parklet café shall be at least forty-eight (48") inches wide to accommodate a wheelchair but may not be more than sixty (60") inches wide.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 40 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
The exemption comes with eight conditions. The café area must be enclosed on all four sides by a sturdy forty-two-inch barrier, such as freestanding sectional fencing, rope or chain, measured from the street asphalt, and it may have only one clear entrance to the sidewalk, at least forty-eight inches wide for wheelchair access but no more than sixty inches wide. Beer or alcohol may be sold and served in the parklet only if the establishment's beer permit or alcohol license already covers that area as part of its licensed premises, and only employees of the establishment may sell or serve it, only to patrons seated inside the parklet.
No beer or alcohol may be consumed, or carried in an open container, on the sidewalk between the establishment and the parklet, except by an employee actively serving or clearing drinks. Patrons may not bring outside alcohol into the parklet or carry open containers out of it, the dispensing point must stay indoors rather than inside the parklet itself, and at closing, or whenever consumption is otherwise prohibited, the establishment must clear every container used for beer or alcohol from the parklet. The rule was adopted by Ord. No. 14090, Sec. 1, on March 12, 2024.
Violations & Fines
Chattanooga's general penalty clause, Sec. 1-8, governs violations of Sec. 5-69: a monetary penalty and forfeiture not exceeding five hundred dollars, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. An establishment that lets patrons carry drinks past the barrier, staffs the bar inside the parklet instead of indoors, or fails to obtain the Transportation Department's temporary use permit in the first place risks losing the exemption entirely, exposing the operator to enforcement under the underlying open-container sections the permit was shielding it from.
Frequently Asked Questions
What permit does a Chattanooga bar need to build a parklet café?
How must a parklet café be enclosed?
Can a parklet café serve alcohol that isn't on the restaurant's own license?
Can a patron carry a drink from the parklet back into the restaurant's building?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chattanooga
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