Papa's patio may get a fees reprieve

Published 12:12 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

Sitting outdoors at Papa's Italian Kitchen in Bonney Lake has become a tug of war between the owner and the city.

Steve Crossley and his wife Angela own Papa's, located at 18707 Sumner-Buckley Hwy. Crossley spoke during the citizen comment period at the July 12 City Council meeting concerning a dispute with city staff over fees being assessed for his outdoor dining patio.

According to Crossley, the fees for his patio, which seats about 45 customers, total $30,000 for sewer, water and traffic impacts.

Crossley reported he began building the patio three months ago, checking with the city departments prior to construction.

"We expect some fees," Crossley said. "We understand that. But maintaining businesses in Bonney Lake keeps the tax base here. There is an attitude of 'them against us.' We just want the city directors to use discretion and judgment."

Crossley said the restaurant's business drops from 30 to 40 percent on warm, sunny days because people can't sit outside.

"On nice days we will fill the outside, but the inside will be empty," Crossley said. "We are trying to stay alive. At $30,000 we will never open the patio. It would take me over five years to get that back, if I got it back then."

At the council meeting Deputy Mayor Swatman noted other eating establishments in the area had outdoor seating, including Starbucks, Coldstone Creamery and Al Lagos, and had not paid fees.

Public Works Director Dan Grigsby, whose department oversees the assessment and collection of the fees, noted the fees were based on peak-use capacity.

"It's a council decision," Grigsby said. "The council has to modify the code."

Councilman Neil Johnson said he felt the city and council needed to be "solution driven."

"If this were Wal-Mart or Home Depot we would be moving much faster," Johnson said.

After the meeting Mayor Bob Young said he had directed the city staff to come up with a solution for Crossley.

"I agree with him (Crossley)," Young said. "The fees are too high. I have asked the staff to craft a measure that would give a 120-day grace period on this fee. This will allow him to go ahead with the patio with no consequences."

According to the mayor the city code does not adequately address outdoor seating.

"We are a growing city and these things will come up," Young said. "We need to sort it out find a way to make it work."

Young said an emergency measure will introduced Tuesday at the workshop.

The mayor noted the administrative staff must follow the city fees and code passed by the council.

"That's why I have been at odds with some to these fees the City Council has passed," Young said. "It's a balancing act.'

Swatman said the fees are charged by "actual impact," but could not understand why the business owner would be forced to pay more fees after his initial payment,

"He didn't build a building," Swatman said. "I can't imagine why this needs to be regulated this way. It is especially aggravating for me that we can't get information from the administration."

Crossley said he paid about $40,000 in sewer, water and traffic impact fees when he and his wife started the business in October 2004.

Crossley said he intended to set up Mama's Espresso stand on the site about five months ago, but was halted due to $25,000 in city fees.

Swatman said the council will at the city code to find a way to accommodate espresso stands.

"We are looking at sewer impact fees that charge actual fees on the impacts," Swatman said. "We have had engineers tell us an espresso stands impact is very small. Steve (Crossley) has been very patient about working with the city. It is important to understand without a good business base in a community, residents can't get the services they need."

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.