Pompano Beach, FL Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Section 155.4303.V of the Pompano Beach zoning code treats outdoor seating, including sidewalk cafes on public sidewalks, as an accessory use to an eating or drinking establishment. Outside the Atlantic Overlay District, the number of outdoor seats cannot exceed the number of indoor seats, and except within the Atlantic Boulevard Overlay or East Overlay districts the outdoor seating area must sit at least 100 feet from any property with a single-family dwelling or in a Single-Family Residential (RS-) zoning district. Seating placed in or adjacent to a public right-of-way or sidewalk cannot obstruct pedestrian movement, must keep at least five feet clear of any alley, crosswalk, fire hydrant, or similar emergency access feature, and cannot use any object to form a physical or visual barrier. A sidewalk cafe specifically must stay within the sidewalk directly in front of the host business unless the adjoining property owner agrees in writing to let it extend further.

Sidewalk cafes carry extra permit conditions: the permit expires every year on September 30, and the operator must sign a hold harmless agreement with the city, approved by the City Attorney, that includes commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage naming the city as additional insured, plus a matching $1,000,000 liquor-liability policy if the cafe serves alcohol. Furniture cannot be attached to trees, posts, signs, curbs, or sidewalks, and no signage is allowed on tables, chairs, or umbrellas visible from the right-of-way. The city can suspend or revoke a sidewalk cafe permit if the insurance lapses, a required business or health license is suspended or revoked, the operator exceeds the approved footprint, violations go uncorrected within 72 hours of written notice, or the site departs from its approved site plan.