Patio deserves a shot

We applaud the plan of Quesadillas Restaurant owner J.C. Torres to build a patio adjacent to his restaurant on Church Street. And we encourage city council to approve the plan when they consider it on third and final reading in two weeks.

Surely the plan is unusual, since the patio will be built on 700 square feet of city-owned property abutting Torres's business, and Torres would not pay the city to use it. But no one would disagree that we are living in unusual times, coming out of the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The patio Torres is planning will cost between $10,000 and $15,000 to construct. It will include tables with umbrellas for alfresco dining, and an attractive fence that will add color and some class to what is currently an empty little plot.

With the economy as it is, we expect Torres would be hard pressed to pay for the lot and spend the money to build the patio. But by helping out a downtown business owner, the city can help him attract people to the downtown, who will then patronize other downtown businesses.

We could look at this as seed money, if the city were spending any money. In fact, the city loses nothing in this deal.

Torres will sign a revocable license with the city for the use of the property. Should the city find a buyer for the plot, they can take it back from Torres, although we would hope the license includes a right of first refusal for Torres to protect his investment.

Yes, the deal is unusual. But desperate times call for...creative, innovative, groundbreaking ideas.

This is one such idea that deserves the full support of council.