The COVID-19 pandemic is over, but outdoor dining in Santa Barbara appears here to stay.

The question now is, how much will it cost restaurant owners to have outdoor dining tables on their private property?

The Santa Barbara City Council tackled the complex issue at Tuesday’s meeting. The city wants restaurants to go through the normal permitting process for outdoor dining. During the pandemic, the city relaxed the standards to help restaurants, but that Economic Recovery Extension and Transition Ordinance expires at the end of 2023.

“As a person who has been through the permitting process several times, it is a very long, arduous, painful expensive process,” said Sherry Villanueva, owner of The Lark and other restaurants. “For most of us working in small businesses, particularly in small restaurants, we are already working 60 hours a week and adding on layers and layers of extra work to try to get through a process is very hard.”

The city wants restaurants to submit a pre-application that allows the city to comment on parking, access, bathrooms, setbacks, stormwater management and other impacts from adding outdoor dining. The minimal fee would be $514.

In addition to the pre-application, a building permit and design review would be required. Projects in the coastal zone would need a coastal development permit, which would cost about $5,535.

State Street master planner Tess Harris said changing a parking lot to outdoor dining space is a more intense use.

A pre-application could trigger a need for new bathrooms, or changes to the curb if the parking lot is no longer used for vehicles. Villanueva said new bathrooms could cost as much as $100,000.

She urged the council to get creative in helping the businesses and consider less expensive portable bathrooms.

“I am very excited that we are going to allow this to keep moving forward,” Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said. “I do think if there is a way to be creative with bathrooms, there are some portable bathrooms that are nicer than my bathroom at home.”

City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said she likes outdoor dining and wants it to remain without an overly restrictive permitting process.

“It is a really difficult return to reality to see all of the steps that are included in this process,” Harmon said. “To the extent we can be creative and flexible and supportive, I hope that we can be.”

Robin Elander, executive director of the Downtown Association, acknowledged that the new, formal process is a sign that the city supports outdoor dining.

“Outdoor dining has become an integral part of our city’s identity, offering residents and visitors a unique and enjoyable way to experience our diverse culinary scene while soaking up the sunny Santa Barbara ambience,” Elander said.

Still, she said streamlining the application process and being creative “in whatever ways possible” is paramount to ensuring that restaurants survive.

“These businesses have already endured unprecedented challenges, and their resilience and ability to adapt to a changing landscape is commendable,” Elander said.

Although he supported the resolution, Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse expressed the most concern about the new process. He expressed skepticism about helping the restaurants too much because it would be favoring them over other businesses that must go through the permitting process.

“There are other businesses that go through these processes every day,” Rowse said. “Staff has to be very careful. We have to be very careful to make sure we are not singling out one class of business for special treatment.”

Rowse said he is trying to be egalitarian in running the city. He is concerned about making allowing parking modifications unnecessarily. Harris had noted in her presentation AB 1217, which would create a temporary waiver of parking requirements for restaurants through July 1, 2026, but Rowse wasn’t thrilled with the idea.

“People are still driving cars, still parking cars; otherwise, why are we building a zillion charging stations in the county right now?” Rowse said.

The vote was 6-0 to approve the changes, with Councilman Eric Friedman absent.