ORLANDO, Fla. — On Wednesday, the Daytona Beach City Commission voted unanimously to amend the city’s land development code.

The goal is to redevelop outdoor spaces to make them more consistent citywide.

What You Need To Know

  • The Daytona Beach City Commission voted unanimously to amend the city’s land development code

  • The overall goal is to redevelop outdoor spaces to make them more consistent across the city

  • This allows for restaurants to install fences or barricades around outdoor seating areas

  • The city of Daytona Beach says grant funding will be made available to help businesses comply

The change will allow restaurants to install fences or barricades around outdoor seating areas, but what it could mean for other businesses is unclear.

Miguel Nin, owner of the Daytona Cigar Club, fears he could lose his outdoor seating because the code change only mentions food and drink establishments.

“They want to take me totally out. To me it’s hurtful, and it’s basically going to put me out of business,” Nin said. 

But the city says they’re willing to address the concerns.

“So those businesses that are not serving food, our redevelopment team will be working with them and our co compliance team to make sure they can come into compliance to be able to do what they want to do,” Deric Feacher, city manager for the city of Daytona Beach, said. 

Feacher says this is about the transformation of the city.  

“Our ultimate goal is to make sure that we can provide quality of life for the residents and visitors of this area. So, trying to make sure there’s consistency that takes place with our sidewalk cafes, making sure it has a corridor of improvements that look atheistically pleasing,” he said.

Feacher said there’s going to be a grant component to this that allows businesses to get resources from the city, as the area will be seeing a change in the future.