Capitol Hill’s first parklet — and the first parklet in Seattle — is also slated to be one of its first streateries.

Montana owner Rachel Marshall confirmed to CHS that she is one of the first applicants for the latest twist in the City of Seattle’s parklet program allowing local businesses to apply to change two or three street parking spaces into public patios and decks.

In announcing the city’s transition of its parklet program out of its preliminary phase, Seattle City Hall also announced a new streatery variation which will give restaurants, cafes, and bars a tighter connection with the facilities. Here’s how the Seattle Department of Transportation describes them:

Streateries are like parklets except the sponsoring restaurant or bar can operate the space as a sidewalk café, providing space exclusively for their customers during their open hours of business. When the bar or restaurant is closed, the space will function as a parklet, open to everyone.

“Many restaurants want to open a sidewalk café, but just don’t have enough sidewalk to do it,” Mayor Ed Murray says about the new parklet form in an announcement about the program. “This new concept will support neighborhood businesses and add another interesting element to our street scene.”

SDOT will approve applications for up to 15 streateries under the new pilot program. “The sponsoring businesses will construct and maintain the area, and provide table service during their open hours,” SDOT says. Applications for streateries are due on March 20th along with any new parklet applications following what the city says has been a successful pilot.

Here’s what you need to apply:

The application form

Three letters of support from your community (four for a streatery)

A simple site plan showing the ideas for your parklet or streatery

A few photos of the proposed location

Parklets and streateries are part of a wave of transitions for SDOT in creating more opportunities for local decisions around how best to use street space. The city’s leading champion of the program has been Jennifer Wieland, public space program manager with SDOT, but CHS has been told she is moving on from that role. Even with the change, SDOT director Scott Kubly seems happy with the program. “Our Parklet Program has enhanced public space in Seattle by successfully partnering with the private sector,” Kubly is quoted as saying in the announcement on the streateries program.

In addition to the E Olive Way parklet in front of Montana, another community project created an early parklet on E Union at 24th in front of Cortona Cafe.

Another parklet is planned for the corner of 10th and E Pike near the Comet and Lost Lake. While we’ve heard some ambitious talk of a larger project to transform 10th Ave, the current vision for the parklet is pretty straightforward according to co-owner Comet and Lost Lake co-owner Dave Meinert. “We hope to incorporate a lot of bike parking and use it to help hide the dumpsters on 10th,” he said.