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

205 treats sidewalk seating as outdoor dining on public property, an accessory use to an indoor restaurant. Getting there takes two City approvals layered together. First, exterior work to build the seating area (barriers, planters, decking) goes through an Administrative Development Permit, Development Permit, or Cultural Heritage Permit review if the storefront is on the City's historic resources list. 48. 20, separate from the zoning approval. Design standards apply regardless of seat count: no part of a required parking area may be occupied, seating cannot exceed the zone's height limit, a five-foot setback is required where the area sits next to an alley, driveway or street corner triangle (25 feet at corners, though both can be reduced with a safety finding), and a minimum five-foot clear sidewalk must remain for pedestrians, reducible to four feet only by the review authority.

The operator must sign an indemnification agreement and carry $1,000,000 in combined single-limit general liability insurance naming the City as an additional insured, with 30 days' notice before any cancellation.