Joseph Baucum

jbaucum@pnj.com

Dog owners who frequent downtown Pensacola and other restaurants in the city limits could soon face obstacles to bringing their pets to their favorite local hangouts.

Regulations already established in the city's code of ordinances could force owners of dining establishments to abide by a series of mandates, most notably constructing a physical barrier around outdoor seating areas that would prevent pedestrians passing by from coming into contact with any dogs on the premises.

For businesses along Palafox Street in downtown who currently offer outside accommodations on the sidewalk in an open setting, installing a barricade could prove impossible.

"The fenced area really doesn’t make any sense," said Joe Abston, owner of Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom and The Tin Cow in downtown. "There’s no place that could have a fenced area that I can think of."

Abston said an employee from the city's code enforcement dropped off a copy of the ordinance at Hopjacks on Tuesday, warning that the city would soon start enforcing the regulations. Among its other stipulations, the ordinance requires that public food service establishments that want to allow customers' dogs within outside portions of the business apply for and receive a permit from the Pensacola City Council.

The application must include a diagram and description of the outdoor area designated as the dog-friendly section, accounting for the area's dimensions, tables, chairs, entryways and exits. The depiction would need to "be accurate and to scale but need not be prepared by a licensed design professional." Noncompliance with the ordinance could result in a maximum fine of $500, imprisonment up to 60 days or both.

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"If they start enforcing that, they are going to have to take away all of the events down there that advertise Palafox Street as being a dog-friendly area," said Adonna Zehr, owner of Adonna’s Bakery and Café on Palafox Street. Zehr had been considering offering baked dog treats on her menu, but the ordinance has given her pause.

"That to me takes away everything that we have been advertising," she continued. "I have dog bowls outside my door. That’s for my customers or the dogs that have been walking down the street. Every day we have someone that comes out there. I’ve never had an issue. Even this weekend, there were a lot of the dogs out there. The impact would be a loss of business."

The ordinance could also compel dog owners to avoid downtown altogether. Carla Skinner, a Pensacola resident and retiree, said she and her husband, David, visit downtown with their dogs on several occasions every week. The couple enjoyed drinks outside Badlands Roadside Bar along Palafox Street on Wednesday with their two papillons, Princess and Duchess.

Skinner said the ability to bring their dogs allows the pets to get in a nice walk while she and her husband support local businesses. But if establishments were forced to comply with the regulations, the couple would not continue to visit the restaurants and bars so as not to put the businesses at risk.

"We wouldn't," she said. "I don't know how anybody would enforce that. I don't know how the restaurants and bars here would be able to erect what they need to erect to have the dogs stay inside of it, so we wouldn't come."

Just talk of enforcing the code has some asking that the ordinance be amended to prevent difficulties for businesses and dog owners. Councilwoman Sherri Myers said she would sponsor an agenda item at the council's next meeting in April to revisit the regulations.

She has pledged to support an amendment that would exempt service dogs from the ordinance. She also intends to file a request to determine how many businesses have been issued a permit since the authorization of the statute, which she said was put into effect in 2010. But she stopped short of vowing to abolish the barricade requirement, citing a greater need to study congestion on public streets.

"I need to walk down Palafox Street and get a better feeling of it and talk with the restaurant owners," Myers said. "I like to deal with reality and not theory."

ONLINE VIDEO

Pensacola residents Carla and David Skinner talk about ordinance's impact at pnj.com.