Welcome. I would like to call this meeting of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee to order. It is August 25th, 2025 at 6:45 p.m. and I am joined by um Councelor Roby who is vice chair
of this committee. Um other counselors are here. They can listen and ask questions. Councelor Roby and I will be voting on the matter at the end. Um so this is regarding order number 25-10009529
communication from Salaul Carvajal on behalf of Chapa Paisa restaurant which is at 203 and 205 Main Street for use of city property for outside seating. I'm going to start by reading the letter from the applicant
received July 22nd 2025. Dear city council members, the purpose of this letter is to formally request permission for outdoor seating at Chapa Paisa Restaurant located at 203 and 205 Main Street, Malbor, Massachusetts. It is believed that expanding the dining area
to include outdoor seating would enhance the dining experience for patrons and contribute to the community's vibrancy. Outdoor dining is popular option for customers, especially in pleasant weather. This allows for greater enjoyment of the area and adds to the lively atmosphere on Main Street. It
also aligns with the goal of creating a welcoming and accessible public space for all. The outdoor dining area we are requesting is on the left side of the restaurant if you are facing the front of it. It has a railing that separates what will be the dining area from the sidewalk which will have no interference
with foot traffic. All trash will be disposed of by Chapa Paisa restaurant and no alcohol beyond this point. Signage will be posted to ensure alcoholic beverages are beverages consumed only on the licensed area. Members of Chapa Paisa restaurant will
constantly monitor the area to ensure proper use and compliance of the space as is typically done in the restaurant. We will respect neighboring businesses and residences, minimize noise and nuisance and enhance the overall streetscape. Compliance with all applicable codes, including those
related to accessibility, public safety, and sanitation will be demonstrated. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Saul Eduardo Carvajal. Um and we are joined here by Sal Carbajal. Thank you for joining us. Um if you would like to take a moment um
would you like to say anything in in regards to what you're asking? Okay. Thank you very much for receiving my application prosp and yes uh my concern for the the I try to put in the business and the oxide is more because I
want to send the business I'm sorry yeah the business the people coming more to my place and I want to separate more to the children families and coming and and my business
okay just to make Sure. I understand that you are making this request so that you can um provide more service to the customers of your business um and welcome more um families to the establishment. Yes. Yes, that's my my reason.
Just making sure I understood. Um so I know I have a I just have a couple of questions about um the timing of the request. Um so in the request from 2017
um you had mentioned four tables in the space each with three chairs. Um it would that be the same for this request? Four tables and with three chairs each.
Yes. Okay. Yes. Um, and the original request from 2017 was for May through October and that would have ended September 30th. would you be looking to
because right now what I'm seeing is we're already at the end of August and so would it be something that you would want considered to have beyond September 30th?
Yes, I think there is is fine. Yeah, but I think the summer is leaving so I that's a couple days. Yeah. And so then another question that I had is when did you want this to start? Did you want
this to start immediately this like so that you could use it in 2025 or did you want to have it considered for 2026? Uh if you want to guys you give me the permitting I can do uh next week and
that's the reasons you want to accept my application. Well, we would have to just um just the process of it. So, we're meeting about it now and then we'll have details um the specifics will be figured out. The
other counselors can ask questions. We'll need to send this to um our legal office to put it into a proper format for our next meeting. Um so, it it will take it will take a little bit of time beyond tonight. So, I just wanted to let
you be aware of that. Um, those were my main questions. I'm going to open it up to, um, councelor Roby, who's also on the committee, if she has any questions, and then, um, the rest of the folks. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. So, I'm happy to see that you are back. I know I was
actually chair of this committee back when we approved the first license to Encroach for the previous owner of the restaurant and then COVID hit and they never actually used it. So, it's nice that you are trying to make use of the area that will be a wonderful addition
to outdoor dining in the city. Um, my suggestion would be that we incorporate several items from the recently approved license to encroach for LSU. Uh, the very first one would be that the license shall be effective from the date of
approval by the city for one-year term, thereafter subject to terms and conditions of this license. the license shall run from year to year. So, it's as soon as this gets approved, um the thing that you may need to know and and may not know is that you will have to go
before the license board to have your license to serve alcohol be allowed outside. You can't just do that because they have you as an indoor in your property only, I believe. So, that will be your
next step. Okay. Uh sorry I said my concern is I don't want to use so much alcohol and I want to serve alcohol outside to the my business if you want to I do is something like wine and families but I
don't want to be uh probably for doing many many things about the alcohol because I'm so really respect about this. Oh okay. So you don't want alcohol to be served outside then then the license I think needs to specify that there will be no alcohol served in this area.
Yes. I want Yeah. I want something like around couple hour like maybe 2 8 8:30 in the night. That's it. Okay. then I would suggest that that be one of the uh conditions in here that it
be um I know in the original in the actual license and indemnification it did not specify where the the number of chairs and tables so I don't I guess we probably can but I
think they're limited because of the space he's not going to be able to add 20 tables and chairs. Um, the other thing from the lost shoe is if he wants this to be open year round, is there license shall be responsible for snow
and ice removal? If the license, he places tables and or chairs on the license area when snow or ice is present. So, I would assume that you might want to shut down as soon as you get to that point, but you never know. Might be snowy one day and nice and beautiful the next day.
Thank you. you are not serving so alcohol. So I don't think that's important. And then I I would suggest that we add in just a request for the solicitor to look at the detailed indemnification in lawsuits versus the simple paragraph in this one
to see if anything from that should be incorporated into this. Um because theirs was also city property. This is city property. Um, other than that, I would move to approve the license and
indemnification using the original one with the amendments to the name and the lo the address is the same, but the owner and what I had suggested. Okay. Thank you, councelor Roby. So, um
I will second the motion to approve this um upon sending it to the legal department to have the items you mentioned um considered to be included that was um from the language in the law
um item. Does any other counselor have councelor Vital? Thank you, Madam Chair. Sir, do you hope to have uh se the outdoor seating all day long and at night up until closing? No. So, what are the hours that you have the outdoor seating?
They want to say 1 to uh 11 to 8:30. All right. So, so are we dark? Yeah. Are you going to put some forms of outdoor lighting to make sure that it's that there's no accidents out back? Yes.
Okay. I don't know what type of if we've had that in the past, Madame Chair, about you know, specific lighting that has to be approved before um before approved. So that's thank you for mentioning that. Thank
you, Councelor Orum. Thank you. And thank you. Uh I've had a couple questions. Uh, one is the one I asked of the other applicants of Lo Shu and um the other brewery is that safety and I noticed
that this is fenced off with a metal fence and I just went by there doesn't have a lot of space but um your plan is for three tables, three tables or four most four but I think a three. Okay. I think a three because this is I don't
want to put in so really really many people in. I see. How do they get up to that platform where the seating is going to be? You There's a wall there. Do you walk in from the restaurant to that area or do you walk from the outside up to it?
I want to go to the side of the restaurant. The side of the restaurant? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And um are you planning any music? No. No outside music? No alcohol? No, I don't want it.
Maybe my resource is maybe I can do some wines to the family. But if you want no that is fine. Yeah, if you do decide on liquor, alcohol, you would need to go as mentioned to the license commission, but it seems like a good location. It just
seems awful tiny, but then again, at least you'll have additional seating. Uh, I agree with the fellow counselors that there shouldn't be a we should make it the same as the other two breweries, you know, limited to what we limited them to, including if lighting becomes an issue.
That would have to be discussed. But I see no problem with this. I've been to your business. Your food is fantastic. Thank you very much. And I wish you the best. But I would ask that we follow the same format we followed for other businesses just so it's fair across. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,
councelor. Thank you, Madam Chair. So, this should so that we stay consistent with outdoor dining downtown, the the the legal department should keep them all similar, right? Same thing with ours. Same thing. What's unique about this one is it doesn't have a drawing like the
other ones all had a drawing as where they wanted tables, but Sol specifically said four tables, three chairs, so each. So that level of detail needs to be in the permit, but the legal department should keep them all the same so we treat all the restaurants fairly down on
um Main Street. Good luck. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. Thank you, President N. Councelor Roby. So, Mr. um sorry, uh we can include the same exhibit that was part of 2017 because it's going in the same exact
spot. So, it does it shows a picture from the opposite side of Main Street and it shows the actual patio area. I I would suggest that restaurants that are downtown that can just put chairs out on the street without any permit can set
them out there regardless of whether there's lighting or not. So, I don't know why there's nothing in um Lost Shoes that talks about lighting behind city hall where they're now allowed to use that patio. So, I don't know that we need to put in anything
about lighting. If it's dark out there, he's going to make sure that his customers can see what they're eating and his weight staff can can see if he's going to be having weight staff versus people just take food out from inside. So, I don't know that we need language.
Uh maybe it's a question for the solicitor if he feels that it I don't know if you've got a light on the side of that wall for your restaurant that would then provide some light. We have something in place for putting
some lights in the side that had already electricity everything. So that's putting some couple uh lights and we are going to actually my recess is I don't want to more like really late my most if you want to is dark like the seven I
prefer close like the seven I don't want to spend my my time in the light so much. I would understand. So I'm comfortable without having any specificity on lighting. I think restaurants are
pretty capable of making sure that both their weight staff, if they're outdoors and their customers can see where they're eating and if there's issues, uh, that's what the indignification does. It makes the city not liable if
anybody does trip or get hurt in the dark. Thank you, Councelor Roby. Are there any more questions or comments? Okay. Hearing none, um there is a motion that
has been made to approve the request um upon sending it to legal to look at the language to make it um to have it correlate more with the previous um ones that we issued for Lost Shoe and Flying
Dreams. Um and I will take a vote. All those in favor? Two. All those opposed? None. Um vote carries to nothing and move to adjurnn. Move.
Motion made and seconded. All those in favor? Opposed. Motion carries. Meeting is adjourned at 7:08. Thank you. Thank you.