Pontiac, MI Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Article XXVIII of the Pontiac City Code, Sections 26-1431 through 26-1434, regulates sidewalk cafes. Section 26-1431 defines a sidewalk cafe as any licensed restaurant permitted to use a portion of the public right-of-way to serve food or beverages, whether or not it also holds a liquor license. Section 26-1432 requires the restaurant's legal operating entity, the same one holding any liquor license, to sign a sidewalk cafe agreement approved by the city attorney and renewed every year, and the agreement runs only from April 15 through October 31.

The sidewalk cafe committee, created under Section 26-1434 and made up of representatives from the mayor's office, city council, city engineer, Pontiac Growth Group, building and safety engineering, strategic and land use planning, the fire marshal and the police department, must approve the agreement before the city signs it and sets standards for the right-of-way improvements a cafe may install. Improvements must be approved by the engineering division, comply with fire and building code exit requirements under Section 26-1432(c), and be removed at the end of each season or within ten days of a city notice, at the cafe's own expense.

Section 26-1432(d) requires all outdoor lighting to be shielded downward and bars loudspeakers or amplified sound audible from adjacent properties. Section 26-1433 requires an annual $100.00 fee before operations may begin each year, plus a cash or surety bond of $300.00 to cover removal or restoration costs if the cafe fails to clear its improvements from the right-of-way.