Watch CBS News

Whittier City Council Officially Opposes LA County Dining Ban

WHITTIER (CBSLA) – The Whittier City Council passed a resolution Wednesday opposing the controversial dining ban implemented by Los Angeles County public health officials.

Outdoor dining Los Angeles
A waiter takes an order at The Butchers Daughter restaurant along Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice on November 23, 2020. In a devastating blow to Los Angeles struggling restaurant and hospitality industry, L.A. County public health officials on Sunday announced they will suspend outdoor dining at restaurants amid a surge of new coronavirus cases.The new rule takes effect at 10 p.m. Wednesday and restricts restaurants along with breweries, wineries and bars to takeout and delivery only for the first time since May. Venice on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 Venice, CA. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The Whittier City Council's resolution formally opposes the resolution, which was upheld Tuesday by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in a narrow 3-2 vote.

The ban, which took effect late Wednesday night and will last for a period of at least three weeks, limits all restaurants in L.A. County to only offering take-out, drive-thru and delivery services. Eateries are no longer allowed to serve patrons outdoors, as they have been for the past several months.

Only the city of Pasadena, which has its own health department, is exempt from the ban.

RELATED: LA Restaurants In Peril As In-Person Dining Ban Hits During Busiest Season Of The Year

"I have never experienced the kind of pushback I am hearing," Supervisor Janice Hahn said of the ban at Tuesday's board meeting. "The public doesn't think that that recommendation is right, and they don't think it's going to work, and they are really losing faith and trust in the decisions that we're making."

The outdoor dining ban is in addition to a curfew order California public health officials put in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for all 41 purple-tier counties, which includes every county in Southern California. It lasts through at least Dec. 21. L.A. County extended the curfew one hour, to 6 a.m.

Under the order, all gatherings, movement and non-essential work is now allowed between those hours. Residents are, however, allowed to do such things as go to the grocery or drug store, walk their pets or pick up takeout.

Whittier's resolution also calls for the city to "supplemental support to local restaurants and businesses negatively impacted by the new public health measures and request additional funding from the County for business relief," the city wrote in a news release.

RELATD: One In Every 145 People In LA County Infected With COVID-19 And Transmitting It To Others

Whittier, like several other cities across the region, closed one of its popular shopping areas, Greenleaf Avenue, to vehicle traffic in order to give restaurants and stores more space for outdoor dining and shopping.

L.A. County could also soon be enacting a stricter safer-at-home order. L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said this week that order would include no public or private gatherings of people not in the same household, limiting outdoor permitted activities to only 50% capacity, indoor essential retail to 35% capacity and indoor non-essential retail to 20% capacity.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.