Berkeley, CA Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

060 changed how the city handles cafe tables and chairs placed in the public right-of-way outside a restaurant's front door. The city expressly states it did not intend to create a land use entitlement running with the land for sidewalk seating, since the activity occurs on public property, so it discontinued issuing new Administrative Use Permits for sidewalk cafe seating and put a termination process in place for existing ones. 060(B), an existing AUP for sidewalk cafe seating terminates automatically, without any city action required, if the food service establishment it serves is abandoned, revoked, replaced with another use, or changes ownership.

410. 48, Miscellaneous Use of Streets and Sidewalks, which the city built to have specific, identifiable issuance standards rather than case-by-case discretion. 18, Right-of-Way Encroachments and Encroachment Permits. 070(E) and needs only a Zoning Certificate or AUP depending on whether it abuts a residential district.