Starting to resemble a third world shanty town.
The last of the Covid-era dining structures that allowed people to eat outside in Pacific Grove are being torn down.
While there were some ardent supporters Of the parklets, they were installed during the Covid-19 pandemic and were never intended to be permanent. Others criticized the structures for being ugly and occupying parking spaces.
Ugly donkey corrals to be replaced by wider sidewalks for dining. Let’s see how many people want to eat in the fog with seagulls overhead.
The pandemic parklets that saved a number of Pacific Grove restaurants from closure as well as kept sales taxes flowing into city coffers, will come to an end by Oct. 31, the P.G. City Council voted on Wednesday, April 2.
City Manager Matt Mogensen was asking the council for direction on the parklet program as a deadline loomed for restaurants to renew parklet permits on June 30 for another year.
Since the city was moving toward sidewalk dining, Mogensen asked if they should sunset parklets. He suggested they give restaurant owners an incentive to remove their parklets early by waiving sidewalk dining fees costing $905 for the first year.
With the tourist season coming up, the council decided to extend sunsetting the program until Oct. 31. In the meantime, owners could choose to end by June 30, with fees waived and the city bearing the cost of removing their parklets.
Now how will the sidewalk dining establishments ruin it with carnival lights, patio heaters and wind blocks?
Among the improvements, wooden parklets were removed; the intersection was excavated and repaved; curbs, gutters, sidewalks, crosswalks, and curb ramps were reconstructed and the sidewalks were widened.
For safety, new metal picket fencing for outdoor seating was installed, trees were added, light poles and street signs were relocated, and pavement markings were updated.
Aint it odd when it’s called the Lighthouse Avenue Widening Project when all it does to the street is make it narrower?
On Monday, construction crews tore down the wooden dining parklet in front of Wild Fish restaurant following last week’s demolition of adjacent parklets owned by restaurants Victorian Comer and Rudolfo’s Café. On Tuesday morning, a worker in a small John Deere excavator near the parklet used the vehicle’s bucket to fracture concrete, before lifting it up and dropping it into an awaiting dump truck.
The Lighthouse Avenue Widening Project, as it’s called, includes open-air seating separated by fencing in front of the three restaurants.
Tell the band at Wild Fish to get paid in advance.
In 2023, a P.G. City Council parklets subcommittee charged with reviewing guidelines and design standards for all parklets instead took a hard turn in the name of “safety first,” according to a report to council. Subcommittee members Luke Coletti, Debby Beck and Lori McDonnell recommended eliminating the three parklets at Lighthouse and Fountain and replacing them with sidewalk dining areas. The council voted 5-2 in favor of the plan. (The council was scheduled to decide on draft design guidelines on Nov. 20, after the Weekly’s deadline.)
The Jacobses are planning to “go out with a bang,” inviting musicians who have played at Wild Fish in the past to bring their instruments and musician friends for a party and jam session from 6:30-9:30pm on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Tearing them down. Started as sidewalk dining then turned into full blown building additions. 
“The remaining parklet for Wild Fish restaurant will be removed Nov. 25,” Pacific Grove City manager Matt Mogensen told The Pine Cone this week. “The sidewalk widening project is expected to be completed prior to the end of the year, weather permitting.
The project involves building open-air seating areas in front of the three restaurants. Pedestrian traffic will be directed to’ a wider, 8-foot pathway between the outer portion of the fenced dining areas and Lighthouse Avenue. Other work includes removing trees and planting new ones in metal-grated wells, relocating signs and an existing light pole, while adding new pavement striping and markings.
Who would give money to Wild Fish? What happened to the money they got from our taxes?
Wild Fish owners Kelvin and Liz Jacobs oppose a city plan to redesign the sidewalk outside their 545 Lighthouse Ave. restaurant. The construction project includes removing their enclosed wooden dining parklet and two others used by neighboring restaurants in favor of open-air eating areas.
In a GoFundMe page started Oct. 15, the Jacobses say they’re preparing for a court battle against Pacific Grove and want people to open their wallets.
Can’t afford to pay taxes, can’t afford legal counsel to bring a lawsuit against Pacific Grove about their ugly ass corral that is due to be ripped out.
Jacobs is delinquent to the state for $143,000 in sales taxes that Wild Fish collected and another $9,000 to Monterey County for business assessment tax.
We spoke to an attorney who advised us that we are not being treated fairly. We would like to challenge the city to address these concerns. Our many public comments, emails and calls have not received responses that address these issues (and others that we have raised related to this). Therefore we would like to raise enough money to challenge the city, since it appears that this will not get addressed in any other way.
We started a GO FUND ME page to raise $5000.00, which is the minimum needed to proceed with our challenge. If you can donate, we greatly appreciate the support!
The seldom open parklet at Spotted Duck is gone. Downtown appearance improvement 110%
Instead of compliance with the feet-from-corner law to make street crossings safe for pedestrians, let’s take away the crosswalk. I see people still crossing the street on the faded crosswalk.
