After Daren Morgan got a permit from the city of Vancouver allowing him to build a brushed steel fence for a new outdoor seating area at Top Shelf, he was excited about the opportunity to expand his bar’s business.
But after the fence went up — something required by the state Liquor Control Board — people started complaining about having to walk around it. City officials are now rethinking their decision to allow it.
Two weeks after the fence was bolted into the sidewalk, city officials approached Morgan, asking him to alter the seating area, according to Morgan.
And if the city doesn’t reissue Morgan’s permit next year, he will have to tear down or alter his $10,000 outdoor seating area fencing.
“The Top Shelf configuration was approved and is compliant with (the Americans with Disabilities Act) but is pretty awkward,” City Manager Eric Holmes wrote in an email obtained by The Columbian in a public records request.
City staff met with the Washington State Liquor Control Board last month to see if an exception could be made for Morgan, but state officials wouldn’t budge, according to Holmes.
Morgan, 48, the owner of Top Shelf, built his outdoor seating area after a consultant from Vancouver’s Downtown Association recommended that it would be good for business. He had been wanting to build outdoor seating for a while, and after the consultant’s advice, he decided to do it. The consultant filed all the paperwork for him and got the permit.
Morgan then approached the owner of Main Event Sports Grill and inquired about collaborating. He wanted a sort of “corridor” in downtown, where people could make rounds through the bars. Having the same style of outdoor seating was a good way for Morgan to make people familiar with the scene.
“I wanted the same look and the same feel,” he said.
Morgan hired the welder who built Main Event’s area to build Top Shelf’s brushed steel fence attached to his building. The seating area covers an area nearly 12 feet by 12 feet.
He spent about $10,000, expecting a return on the investment within six weeks. He built four sitting tables and two standing tables to provide accommodation for about 20 people. It opened about two months ago.
“It’s been incredible ever since,” he said. “We have this niche kind of thing.”
For now, city officials will allow Morgan to keep his permit but may not allow him to keep his current fence setup next year.
The fence complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city of Vancouver’s right-of-way permit and the state Liquor Control Board’s rules.
City officials want to clear a straight path down the sidewalk and want Morgan to shift the outdoor area to the other end of the curb. That would create a gap between the two areas and runs afoul of state liquor law, which requires the fence be attached to the building and stand at least 42 inches high.
Morgan is trying to negotiate a deal because he’s been happy with the city’s efforts to improve downtown.
“I don’t want another black eye on the city,” Morgan said, but he’s also “not planning on changing it.”
Bonnie Brasure, 55, owner of Bleu Door Bakery, said the permit for outdoor seating “is the easiest permit to get from the city.”
Brasure put six tables outside her bakery after getting a permit from the city for building a custom steel fleur-de-lis fence. She said the extra room increases sales 15 percent in the summer.
Brasure also questions the effectiveness of requiring that fencing around sidewalk seating stand at least 42 inches high.
“That (fence) is not stopping anybody from passing a drink over it,” she said.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Morgan received consultant work from the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, when in fact it was from Vancouver’s Downtown Association.
