Changes to Outdoor Dining Code Set for Monday Night Board Meeting

The Port Jefferson Board of Trustees has released its agenda for Monday night's meeting, set for 7:00 p.m. at Village Hall.

The board plans to vote on instituting its parking amnesty program once again, a periodically running discount on outstanding parking tickets which allows violators to pay 40 percent of the penalty if they pay between a certain time period. This year's program is proposed to run from Feb. 15 through April 30.

Two public hearings are also expected to be held: one on proposed changes to the R-O zoning code, and another on outdoor dining regulations.

The new outdoor dining regulations tighten up chapter 250-58 of the village code, adding a space requirement of 20 square feet per seat, halting outdoor dining at 11 p.m., while extending the seasonal permit a month from an April 15 start date to March 15. The regulations also tie in outdoor musical performances to stopping by 11 p.m. on weekends.

"I believe it's an effort to make bad neighbors into better neighbors, but I think it's one of those, 'don't knock it until you try it' things," said Tom Schafer, owner of Tommy's Place and Schaffer's.