The Manhattan Beach City Council on Tuesday night agreed to allow an extension of outdoor dining decks on Manhattan Beach Blvd. west of Ocean Ave. through July 19.

That agreement would affect current dining decks for the Strand House and Rock'N Fish restaurants. Another dining deck at Shellback Tavern (on Ocean Ave.) would be reduced by 4 feet in width and will be permitted through Labor Day weekend. .

The City Council had granted permission last month for other Manhattan Beach restaurants to continue using their temporary outdoor dining decks through Labor Day.

However, during last month's discussion, the council opted to wait on any possible extension of dining decks west of Ocean until the dates of major summer downtown events could be confirmed. 

Setup for the International Surf Festival and 6-Man Volleyball Tournament is now scheduled to begin in Downtown Manhattan Beach on July 26. That setup will be dismantled on August 2. Then on August 15, setup will begin for the AVP Manhattan Beach Open.

City officials have said that event coordinators and fire and police departments need the area along Manhattan Beach Blvd. west of Ocean for staging and security, and for safe passage of emergency vehicles if needed. That area around the Manhattan Beach Pier, while already crowded during the summer, becomes even more of a hub of activity during major special events.

Currently, 29 Manhattan Beach restaurants have created outdoor dining decks (also referred to as "parklets") to accommodate customers during the pandemic.

The city has not been charging restaurants for use of those spaces. The meter costs for one parking space is about $790/month, and the use of the sidewalk right-of-way spaces is priced at $3 per square foot per month. Along with potential revenue lost from parking tickets, the outdoor dining effort has cost the city about $734,000. However, that amount has generally been made up by a similar amount of revenue brought in by increasing parking meter rates across town to $2 per hour.

The council has deferred a discussion on whether to continue to waive the parking and usage fees for those spaces taken up by the dining decks.