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

An outdoor dining area is defined as an unenclosed or partially enclosed area adjacent to, and accessory to, an enclosed sit-down restaurant, used to serve food and drink to seated customers. Section 322-12O requires permanent outdoor dining areas in the Central Business (CB) District to meet the special exception standards in Section 322-82C(25), which sit within Article on special exception uses reviewed by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Those standards require the area to stay at least 150 feet from any residence district unless the restaurant building itself blocks the view, and to be set back from the curbline at least 10 feet in the CB District or 40 feet in every other district.

If the area exceeds 1,000 square feet, parking must be provided at the same rate as the principal restaurant use. unless the Board specifically finds later hours won't affect nearby residential uses; outdoor entertainment and loudspeakers are never allowed. Seasonal outdoor dining follows a lighter-touch track: Section 322-12P routes it through a Building Department permit under the Town's seasonal outdoor dining application form rather than the full special exception process.