Austin Transportation and Public Works — Right-of-Way Management

Sidewalk Cafe / Street Patio / Storefront Permit

This is the permit for putting tables on the public sidewalk or converting street parking into a street patio, and it is the single most under-reported cost in Austin. Under Public Space Management fees the permit itself is $710 and non-refundable, the Annual Sidewalk Fee is $220, and Annual Metered Spots are $2,200 per space. A cafe using only sidewalk space therefore pays $930 in year one and $220 a year after. A street patio taking one metered parking space pays $710 plus $220 plus $2,200, which is $3,130 in the first year and $2,420 every year after. Widely-circulated guidance putting this at a $100 application fee and a $200 annual fee is wrong on both counts and omits the metered-space charge entirely. The permit is valid for up to five years, and two conditions run for the whole of that term rather than just the application: insurance and a bond must remain active and on file with Right-of-Way Management, and the work must be carried out by a business holding a Right-of-Way Contractor License. Budget for those alongside the fee, because a lapse in either invalidates the permit rather than merely delaying it. A sidewalk cafe is privately managed and open only to the business's customers; table service is allowed, and barriers are required only where alcohol is served. Where alcohol is served the business must also carry liquor liability insurance of $1,000,000 and supply a copy of its TABC permit. Applications need construction documents, proof of property ownership, adjacent business contact details and three photographs of the site before installation, plus Historic Preservation Office approval in a landmark district and Walk of Stars Association approval on 6th Street between IH-35 and Congress or on Trinity between Cesar Chavez and 6th. If instead you are converting your own private parking lot rather than public space, that is the separate Parking Lot Patio Permit. Related right-of-way fees: a Parking Space Permit application is $50 non-refundable with metered spaces at $32 to $80 per day depending on location and day of week, vending is $475 plus $715 annual space rental, and posting legal notices is $125 per notice with a two-notice minimum.