Irondequoit, NY Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Section 235-27 lists the permitted uses in C Business Districts in the Town of Irondequoit. Subsection C says uses that need space outside an enclosed building for their best utilization can operate outside only with the consent of the Board of Appeals, after a public hearing, if public convenience and welfare will be substantially served and neighboring property will not be injured. Subsection C(1) carves out restaurants and eating establishments: outdoor seating for up to 20 seats is permitted without Board of Appeals consent, on four conditions.

First, the Director of Development Services must approve the seating after reviewing setback requirements, life and fire safety requirements and clearances for ingress and egress. Second, the Director must determine that public convenience and welfare will be substantially served and that the appropriate use of the neighboring property will not be injured. Third, no additional structures can be needed to accommodate the seating. Fourth, there can be no outdoor entertainment, live or reproduced.

Seating beyond 20 seats goes back to the Board of Appeals consent process in subsection C. The size of the restaurant itself also matters: § 235-27A(12) permits restaurants and take-out businesses with seating for 30 patrons or less, and § 235-28A(8) puts restaurants and drinking establishments with seating for more than 30 patrons, along with outdoor entertainment provided in relation to them, under Town Board special use permit approval.

The Fire Marshal side is separate. Section 98-30B(24) lists outdoor seating associated with a food service business or other seasonal business, for a period not more than six months, among the activities that need an operating permit, with fees set under Chapter 1. The Town of Irondequoit code text read for this page has no separate sidewalk cafe license.