Until recently, many local restaurant owners said they didn’t know they needed a permit to allow dogs in their outside eating areas.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You see it all the time in Jacksonville: people enjoying a meal outside while their dog relaxes nearby. But until last week, restaurants in the city that allowed dogs on their patios technically weren’t in compliance with state health codes.
According to Florida regulations, dogs are allowed on restaurant patios, but cities must adopt their own permitting process. Until now, Jacksonville did not have one.
That gap came to light after a visit from the health department at The Bearded Pig in San Marco.
“We have dogs out there almost every hour, you can find at least one dog on the patio,” said Chad Munsey, co-founder of The Bearded Pig.
Munsey said the restaurant had been operating for a decade before learning a permit was required.
“A guest that was dining here supposedly filed a complaint with the health department stating that we had dogs on our patio and so they came to check it out,” Munsey said. “By the third time I asked the inspector, I said, ‘What’s the situation?’ She says, ‘Well, technically the state of Florida allows dogs on patios but leaves it up to each city to create their own ordinance.’”
He said the inspector told him Jacksonville did not have an ordinance in place.
“And she said, ‘Unfortunately, at this point, Jacksonville, the City of Jacksonville, does not have an ordinance, so you’re really illegally having dogs in your patio,’” Munsey said. “And I said, ‘So every restaurant in the city is out of ordinance.’ She said ‘yes.’”
Munsey and his business partner took the issue to the city council, where members said they were unaware of the problem.
“Sure enough, we had to create some sort of permitting process, and that’s where this legislation comes in,” said City Council Member Raul Arias, who represents District 11.
Arias, who is also in the restaurant business, said the requirement came as a surprise.
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years, going on 19 years this summer, and this is the first time I heard about this.”
On Jan. 13, the council unanimously approved a free permit application allowing restaurants to host dogs on outdoor patios. The permit consists of a two-page form that must be submitted to the city’s planning department.
Restaurants that opt in must post signs at patio entrances warning customers that dogs may be present. Dogs must remain on a leash and are still not allowed inside restaurants unless they are service animals.
“When you have a great patio like we do and a lot of restaurants in town have great patios, people want to be able to enjoy it,” Munsey said.
With the new permit now available, Jacksonville restaurants can continue a practice that many people thought was already allowed.