Bensalem, PA Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Bensalem adopted the SRM Street Road Mixed Use District in 2021 to encourage a pedestrian-oriented redevelopment of the Street Road corridor, and outdoor dining and sidewalk cafes are a design element the ordinance calls out by name. Section 232-413.6.1.7 requires that outdoor dining be offered to promote the district's pedestrian character, and that a sidewalk cafe keep a clear pedestrian walkway along the sidewalk and within any public space it borders. Operators must separate the dining area from the street, parking area, or access drive with planters aligned to the curb, railings, or a similar barrier rather than leaving diners exposed to vehicle travel lanes.

The standard also lists what a dining area may add: planters, illumination, shade elements such as awnings or umbrellas, and heaters. These are not optional suggestions folded into a general streetscape plan; Section 232-413.6(l) makes the Appendix A written and graphic design standards, which include the outdoor dining and sidewalk cafe rules, a mandatory part of any SRM development, and any developer seeking relief from a specific standard must get Township Council approval first. Because SRM approval already requires land development review, the outdoor dining standard functions as a line item Township staff check on the submitted renderings and site plan, alongside the district's separate sidewalk, streetscape, and public-space design requirements in the same appendix.