| Chapter 004 |
| 2024 -- S 2028 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 02/09/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- OUTDOOR DINING ACT |
Introduced By: Senators DiMario, Bissaillon, F. Lombardi, Pearson, Raptakis, Lawson, Euer, Cano, and Murray |
| Date Introduced: January 10, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Title 45 of the General Laws entitled "TOWNS AND CITIES" is hereby |
| amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
| CHAPTER 24.7 |
| OUTDOOR DINING ACT |
| 45-24.7-1. Short title. |
| This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Outdoor Dining Act". |
| 45-24.7-2. Definitions. |
| As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings: |
| (1) "Food service establishment" means any fixed or mobile restaurant, coffee shop, |
| cafeteria, short-order cafe, luncheonette, grill, tearoom, sandwich shop, soda fountain, tavern, bar, |
| cocktail lounge, night club, roadside stand, industrial feeding establishment, cultural heritage |
| education facility, private, public or nonprofit organization or institution routinely serving food, |
| catering kitchen, commissary or similar place in which food or drink is prepared for sale or for |
| service on the premises or elsewhere, and any other eating or drinking establishment or operation |
| where food is served or provided for the public with or without charge. |
| (2) "Outdoor dining" means the use of an adjacent, outside area by a food service |
| establishment for the same eating and drinking activities that occur within the establishment. |
| (3) "Outdoor dining area" means any designated area outside the principal building of a |
| food service establishment which is designed, established, or regularly used for consuming food or |
| drink. Outdoor dining areas do not include any unenclosed dining area at a private residence. |
| (4) “Restaurant” means an eating establishment, including, but not limited to, coffee shops, |
| cafeterias, and private and public school cafeterias, that give or offer for sale food to the public, |
| guests, or employees, as well as kitchens and catering facilities in which food is prepared on the |
| premises for serving elsewhere. The term “restaurant” shall include a bar area within the restaurant. |
| 45-24.7-3. Outdoor dining compliance. |
| (a) A food service establishment that offers outdoor dining shall: |
| (1) Comply with all accessibility requirements to which places of public accommodations |
| are subject; and |
| (2) Comply with the Rhode Island food code (216 RICR 50-10-1 et seq.), the Rhode Island |
| fire safety code (450 RICR 00-00-1 et seq.), and the Rhode Island building code (510 RICR 00-00- |
| 1 et seq.). |
| (b) All outdoor dining structures built on private property in compliance with § 45-24-46.5 |
| that have been inspected by February 15, 2025, and found to be in compliance with the Rhode |
| Island food code (216 RICR 50-10-1 et seq.), the Rhode Island fire safety code (450 RICR 00-00- |
| 1 et seq.), and the Rhode Island building code (510 RICR 00-00-1 et seq.) shall be deemed |
| approved, and a governmental entity shall not require the removal of any alterations, modifications, |
| or physical structures compliant with these regulations, and shall not require any retroactive |
| applications, permits, fees, or approvals of such alterations, modifications, or physical structures. |
| 45-24.7-4. Municipal regulation of outdoor dining. |
| (a) A city or town may adopt ordinances that: |
| (1) Limit outdoor dining on public property; |
| (2) Limit capacity for outdoor dining; and |
| (3) Require barriers for outdoor dining that border parking lots or roadways. |
| (b) A city or town shall not: |
| (1) Adopt an ordinance prohibiting outdoor dining; |
| (2) Adopt an ordinance limiting the time of year when outdoor dining may be offered; |
| (3) Restrict the hours of outdoor dining operations inconsistent with the food service |
| establishment's existing licensure, except between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; or |
| (4) Require new parking capacity standards on a food service establishment for an outdoor |
| dining area built in compliance with § 45-24-46.5, in excess of any in existence prior to March 1, |
| 2020. |
| (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to: |
| (1) Restrict municipal enforcement of noise ordinances; or |
| (2) Authorize or entitle a food service establishment to conduct outdoor dining on areas for |
| which they do not have legal ownership or possession unless explicitly authorized by such |
| landowner or their authorized representative. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC003529/SUB A |
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