City commissioners are being asked to consider limiting the number of sidewalk dining areas allowed downtown.

Members of the city’s Historic Resources Commission want city commissioners to consider the idea of a limit, though they stopped short of endorsing the idea themselves.

City Commissioner David Schauner, though, said he would champion the idea.

“I think there does become a point when too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing,” Schauner said.

Schauner said he didn’t have a “magic number” in mind for how many outdoor eating areas the downtown could handle, or a method for determining who would receive the limited number of permits. But Schauner said he didn’t want to see Massachusetts Street lined with sidewalk dining because that would make it more difficult for pedestrians to get up and down the street.

“I think it completely changes the character of downtown,” Schauner said. “I’m not sure that six feet of remaining sidewalk is sufficient. That really isn’t much when you have a lot of people downtown.

“And at some point, you have to ask yourself when it stops becoming a sidewalk and starts becoming a dining room.”

Restaurant owners said the idea of a cap concerned them. Bob Schumm, owner of Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse and Mass Street Deli, said the outdoor dining was harming no one.

“They’re very popular when the weather is nice,” Schumm said. “I don’t see them as any type of eyesore or hazard.”

Schumm, whose Mass Street Deli, 941 Mass., added the city’s first sidewalk dining area in 1994, said there also wasn’t good evidence the areas created pedestrian problems.

“All I can say is that I have been to France, Spain and Italy and the sidewalks there are narrower and they have these dining areas everywhere and everybody seems to make it work just fine,” Schumm said.

Currently the city has 20 sidewalk dining areas downtown, and two businesses – Teller’s and Free State Brewery – recently received approval to add sidewalk spots. Under current regulations, only businesses that derive 70 percent of their sales from food or nonalcoholic drinks qualify for a sidewalk dining license.

But there has been talk of changing that provision to allow bars to have sidewalk drinking areas in an effort to help those businesses compete in the wake of the city’s smoking ban last year.

If the food requirement was removed, it has been estimated that another 20 businesses could apply for a permit. The recommendations from the Historic Resources Commission do not address whether the food requirement should be lifted.

City Commissioner Mike Rundle said he was still willing to consider lifting the food requirement, but he also said he would listen to the idea of limiting sidewalk dining.

“I would want to temper whatever I think with what the downtown community believes,” Rundle said. “I really just want to hear more from downtown before I make a decision.”

Schauner has said he was firmly opposed to the idea of allowing sidewalk drinking areas. Jerry Neverve, owner of the Red Lyon Tavern, said he intended to push city commissioners to allow it. He said he was confident businesses would monitor the crowds in the area to ensure that downtown didn’t lose its current ambiance.

“It certainly won’t turn into New Orleans,” Neverve said. “Our door guys will be standing out there and we’ll staff it appropriately. It is not going to be a free-for-all that scares little children away.”

Among the specific recommendations the Historic Resources Commission made:

¢ The sidewalk dining area must leave at least six feet of sidewalk for pedestrian use.

¢ No sidewalk dining area will be five feet or less from a street corner.

¢ No paint, artificial turf or any other covering may be placed on the sidewalk.

¢ Railings shall be designed in a way to make them removable, so the sidewalk can be cleared for special events or emergencies.

¢ Railings must be made of ornamental metal or wrought iron, and can be no higher than 36 inches.

¢ The areas may not contain umbrellas or outdoor heaters.

Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the issue at their 6:35 p.m. meeting Tuesday at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.