St. Charles committee votes against closing Walnut Avenue to traffic for outdoor dining

It appears that Flagship on the Fox will not be able to use Walnut Avenue for its outdoor dining program this year.

At the St. Charles City Council’s Planning and Development Committee meeting on Monday, the majority of alderpersons voted not to allow the temporary closure of Walnut Avenue through Oct. 31 for outdoor dining. St. Charles officials created the program in 2020 as a way to help restaurants comply with the state’s COVID-19 mitigation rules at the time.

Voting in favor of closing Walnut Avenue were 2nd Ward Alderperson Rita Payleitner, 3rd Ward Alderperson Todd Bancroft, 3rd Ward Alderperson Paul Lencioni and 5th Ward Alderperson Ed Bessner. Voting against were 1st Ward Alderperson Ronald Silkaitis, 1st Ward Alderperson Bill Kalamaris, 4th Ward Alderperson David Pietryla and 4th Ward Alderperson Bryan Wirball.

Second Ward Alderperson Ryan Bongard abstained from voting, which created a tie vote. Bongard had to abstain from voting because his company, Twelve21, rents office space in the city’s tax increment financing district that also includes Flagship on the Fox.

State law prohibits him from publicly commenting or voting on any item within the boundaries. Fifth Ward Alderperson Steve Weber, chairperson of the Planning and Development Committee, broke the tie by voting against closing Walnut Avenue.

“I feel they can use the sidewalk to do outdoor dining,” Weber said, following his vote.

Alderpersons did unanimously recommend approving the request of Pollyanna Brewing Company – which is in the same building as Flagship on the Fox – to again use the city-owned portion of the parking lot directly south of the Pollyanna building for the purpose of providing an outdoor dining patio. Bongard also abstained from that vote.

After the meeting, Pietryla said he voted against closing Walnut Avenue because as a matter of policy, he doesn’t want to close down public streets, limit traffic flow and impact movement in an already congested area.

“We have an existing cafe permit program in our ordinances that allows for businesses to utilize sidewalks,” he said.

St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek expressed disappointment in the vote.

“I was very disappointed in the vote by some council members to deny closure of a portion of Walnut Avenue for outdoor dining, and with no explanation as to why,” Vitek said in a statement following the vote. “There were many residents who spoke at meeting, and their message was loud and clear – close the street and support outdoor dining. While I see value in having holistic discussions about outdoor dining and street closures, until we do that, I don’t see value in arbitrarily ending a program our residents enjoy.”

Vitek talked about how successful the outdoor dining program has been.

“The pandemic took a toll on many industries,” she said. “The adaptation of outdoor space for dining was a positive move that helped alleviate the hardship COVID created for restaurants. Outdoor dining has been successful for restaurants and many have found a way to continue it all year long. Besides helping our restaurants thrive, outdoor dining also has fueled the vibrancy of our downtown. It helps create an atmosphere that promotes walkability, encourages people to visit the shops, relax along the riverfront and enjoy our beautiful city.”

Prior to the vote, Steve Mayer, who owns Flagship on the Fox as well as the newly opened Dukes Northwoods restaurant, talked about the success of the outdoor dining program.

“Three years ago, COVID hit all bars and restaurants and forced us to shut down and the city of St. Charles allowed us to close Walnut Avenue, which was a widely successful pilot program,” Mayer, a St. Charles resident, said in addressing alderpersons. “The residents loved the outdoor dining and the following two summers, Walnut was closed as well. COVID is still real, despite some people’s opinions on this, especially for the elderly and immunocompromised…There’s still a lot of people who don’t feel safe in indoor settings, and I think it is pretty important to offer these things to those populations. All we want at Flagship is to provide what is best for the community. A Walnut Avenue closure brings in tax dollars for other communities with sales and liquor tax revenues. Over 50% of our customer base is from out of town. Not every restaurant in this town can say that.”

Flagship on the Fox has paid permit fees to use Walnut Avenue for its outdoor dining program. He also noted the closure of Walnut Avenue allowed the restaurant to host two events last year – a bags tournament for Special Olympics and for the W.A.R. on Wheels charity ride, an event organized by the St. Charles-based nonprofit group Cal’s Angels, which has a mission of raising awareness, granting wishes and funding research for pediatric cancer research.

Alderpersons heard from those both in favor of and against closing Walnut Avenue for the outdoor dining program.

“You can have outdoor dining but you don’t have to close the street,” St. Charles resident Greg Taylor said in addressing alderpersons. “You can have outdoor dining on the sidewalks on both sides.”

Taylor said it is a “bad precedent to be closing streets for private businesses.”

Anita Dickerson, who is on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission and also is a business owner in the city, spoke in favor of closing Walnut Avenue for outdoor dining.

“Closing it off I think is a great idea,” she said. “And it’s something that’s already worked. I don’t see the harm in it. It’s really just a loading dock for the Arcada Theatre. It’s an alley. Closing it does not affect the traffic that goes through there.”