Cape Girardeau City Council Passes Sidewalk Cafe, Business License Ordinances

The Cape Girardeau city council passed an ordinance that allows businesses to operate sidewalk cafes on some downtown streets at Monday night’s meeting.
 
Restaurants can have sidewalk seating in areas with sidewalks that are wide enough to accommodate tables and chairs, like on Broadway.
 
City manager Scott Meyer says this was all part of the city’s plan for the Broadway corridor project.
 
“The reason we wanted to invest in the wider sidewalks was to have that opportunity for people to have sidewalk cafes and bring that to our city,” Meyer said. “This is specifically for the people who own the business behind the sidewalk. So it’s really just an extension of their business. And then each day, they have to put stuff back in.”
 
The city also passed an ordinance that charges a flat fee of $40 for all business licenses. The city has 154 different business license categories. Previously, the license fee ranged from $5 to $300, depending on the category.
 
During the meeting, Meyer mentioned the city will open its first dog park early next month.