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

Garden Grove Municipal Code Sec. 050(I) governs outdoor dining that spills onto the public right-of-way on Historic Main Street, and it expressly overrides the citywide accessory-dining rule in Sec. 300 for that stretch of street. 32) approves a Main Street outdoor dining permit and the City separately issues an encroachment permit under Title 11. The application is filed under penalty of perjury with the required Director's Review fee, filed concurrently with the encroachment permit application, and must include site plans showing the dining area's dimensions, every obstruction (signs, lamp posts, benches, trees, tree grates), the furniture layout, and the pedestrian path of travel.

Design standards require a four-foot minimum unobstructed pedestrian path at all times, a three-foot clearance around furniture, full ADA accessibility, and umbrellas that keep at least seven feet of clearance and stay under 10 feet tall. No existing tree, lamp post, or planter may be removed; benches and trash receptacles may only be relocated with Public Works Director approval. Any barrier demarcating the area must be wrought iron or similarly sturdy material (no chain link, plastic, vinyl, or chicken wire), firmly anchored, and between three feet and three feet six inches high; a barrier is mandatory if alcohol is served.

Dining alcoves built into storefronts cannot extend new structure into the right-of-way and must include an entrance from the right-of-way. , furniture must be stored inside when closed, sit-down service only is allowed (no stand-up service), no entertainment is permitted, and misting systems over the right-of-way are barred except directly at the storefront. Alcohol service additionally requires a conditional use permit and an ABC license, with food service accompanying any alcohol sale.