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Session 1515, Minutes Page 3 Irkse April 2, 1990 Ms. Linda Cavato, 7101 Cambridge, spoke in favor of the expansion, and said the introduction of the Caffe in this neighboorhood has actually improved the entire block. She said the restaurant has excellent food and is a first-class addition to the area, and she hoped the Council would approve the expansion. Ms. Nancy Baglan, 7540 Cornell, also spoke in favor of this restaurant's site expansion proposal. She felt the operation has had an extremely positive ef- fect: on both the neighborhood and adjoining North and South business strip, and she noted the excellent improvements that have already been made by the owners. She understood there was a concern about parking; however, on a re- cent Saturday evening when the restaurant was quite busy, there were at least 10 empty street parking spaces nearby. She urged the Council to support this fine business. Mr. Adams noted that this situation is not quite the same as several others where parking is limited; there is more off-street parking available, and the restaurant is further from residences than in the other locations. He was in favor of approval, but with conditions. Mr. Duane Burrell, 707 North and South, said he lived across from the Caffe, and his yard has been cleaner since the restaurant opened. He said the former Velvet Freeze on this site caused a great deal of litter in the neighborhood. He said the restaurant has had a very positive effect on this area. The applicant, Mr. David Weaver, 7456 Amherst, said he had the signatures of 60 neighborhood residents whosupport the expansion, and also a letter from Life Skills Foundation which permits the European Caffe to use its parking lot (60 spaces) during weekend and evening hours. Mr. Adams moved acceptance of the site plan at 628-630 North and South, howev- er, fi with conditions relating to outdoor seating limits and hours of operation. Mr. Weaver said the restaurant currently closes at 10:00 p.m. and a closing of 11:00 p.m. would not present a problem. He noted that only a third of the ex- pansion area space will be used for patron seating, with the rest used to make the operation better and more efficient (adding rest rooms, coatroom, waitress station, etc.) . Addressing outdoor seating, he said there was a 17 foot wide sidewalk, nine feet of which are on private property, with about seven and a half feet devoted to seating. Adding a narrow planter or similar divider to the remaining foot and a half was being considered. He said there was still plenty of room for walking. There was brief discussion about the outdoor seating, and Mr. Weaver said they <' would like to seat 24 outside instead of the current 16. In response to Mrs. Schuman, Mr. Weaver said they would continue to remove the outdoor furniture at closing time. Mr. Wagner said a problem encountered at other restaurant locations has been employee parking in front of residences, and he asked whether Mr. Weaver could request that his employees not park in front of residences. Mr. Weaver said he would cooperate fully and in fact there were two employee spaces behind the building. Regarding the dumpster, which was referred to in the report Council received, is used only by the restaurant and not shared.