Interesting story in Sunday’s DMN about the continuing struggle the city is having trying to make Dallas restaurant patios pet-friendly while also providing some modicum of regulation governing cleanliness and health conditions. A year ago, the council agreed to allow pets on patios with a couple of caveats, including: provide a separate patio entrance, install "air curtains" to separate the patio from the restaurant’s interior, clean the patio every 30 minutes with animal-friendly chamicals whenever a dog is present, don’t let food handlers pet animals, and keep dogs off chairs.
Restaurant owners complained that the rules are too complicated, the "air curtains" are too expensive (up to $1,000) and cleaning a patio every 30 minutes is just a hassle, so a year after making dog-on-patio permits available, not one restaurant has applied for one (which apparently doesn’t mean that patios don’t accept doggy diners, just that they’re not worried about the city enforcing the rules).
Next month, the council will consider revising the ordinance, including dropping the "air curtain" requirement and possibly lengthening the time between patio cleanings.
Something else the council might consider: Not worrying about the issue altogether. People who like pets are going to find out about pet-friendly restaurants and frequent them. People who don’t want to dine with dogs are going to find somewhere else to eat. The self-selection process gives restaurant owners the power to make their own decisions (and reap the economic rewards or losses), unfettered by city regulations that probably aren’t going to be enforced anyway.
