The Parklets That Return to Cal Ave This Winter Will Be Built to Stay

"For some Cal Ave. businesses, they've been hesitant to fund high-quality permanent outdoor structures while operating under temporary rules." Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce CEO Charlie Weidanz said that at a June 1 City Council meeting, as reported by Palo Alto Online. He was making the case for a new rulebook on California Avenue.

Four months later the street was cleared. All the parklets on the car-free block came down so the city could repave, and Palo Alto Online described the strip as looking "a little barren" that week. Whatever goes back up over the coming months will be built under the new rules. Those rules come with fixed designs, a fee schedule and a detailed chapter on winter weather. This is the first season when a restaurant on Cal Ave decides whether to build something meant to last. Any parklet that appears between now and spring was paid for by someone who expects the car-free street to stick around.

Fresh asphalt, then the new rules

The city's FY 2026 Street Resurfacing Project reached California Avenue on Oct. 1. Crews ground out the old asphalt between El Camino Real and Birch Street that day. They repaved from El Camino to Ash Street the same afternoon and finished Ash to Birch on Oct. 2. Stamped asphalt crosswalks were scheduled for Oct. 21 to 23 and Oct. 26, and the city warned that weather or delays could shift those dates.

The repave also marked the switch to the new rules. "Once repaving is complete, new outdoor dining standards will be in effect supporting the continued activation of Cal Ave.," the city announced on social media, according to Palo Alto Online.

The standards are a city document dated June 1, 2026, titled Outdoor Activation Standards, Car Free California Avenue. They cover only the stretch from El Camino Real to Birch Street. They separate two kinds of outdoor space. Parklets are "constructed outdoor areas with improvements for year-round outdoor dining, retail, entertainment, or services." Café seating and retail display areas are spaces "that primarily use removable furnishings such as tables, chairs, umbrellas, heaters and retail displays."

That split decides how the street looks this winter. Chairs and umbrellas can come back fairly quickly. A parklet is construction, and it goes through a permit.

Three designs and a price list

The council adopted the standards on a 6 to 1 vote. A restaurant can now pick one of three pre-approved parklet designs and get through approval faster. Palo Alto Online reported that any other design is allowed but goes through a more extensive review.

The city's Outdoor Dining Program page lists the citywide parklet fees for FY 2026:

• $5,004 for an initial application
• $604 for a renewal
• A $2,750 refundable deposit
• A right-of-way license fee of $10.71 per square foot

Applications start with a pre-application and staff review, and applicants can check their status in Accela. None of those fees covers building the structure. A finished parklet on the new asphalt means the restaurant has paid the city and paid a builder.

Winter rules for heaters and umbrellas

The standards were written for year-round use, and the section that matters most between now and March covers weather.

Umbrellas are allowed to provide effective weather protection from sun, rain and moderate wind. Anything placed in the public right-of-way must be commercial grade. Umbrellas cannot be anchored to the roadway or sidewalk and must stand in a weighted, freestanding base. The manufacturer must rate them to stay stable in wind. They must be closed and secured in windy conditions and stored closed or moved indoors when not in use.

The heating rules go into more detail. Electric heaters and propane heaters are both permitted if they meet city safety and permitting requirements. No extension cords are allowed for fixed lighting or heaters. Propane brings more conditions:

1. Storing and using liquid propane gas requires a HAZMAT permit. The application has to include a site plan showing where each heater will go.
2. Twenty-pound propane containers cannot be stored indoors.
3. Propane cannot be stored in the public right-of-way.
4. Propane heaters cannot sit on the sidewalk in the pedestrian path of travel.
5. Propane heaters cannot be placed under overhead canopies or awnings.

The city's program page adds that heaters and special lighting each need their own permit application. The design a restaurant picks therefore shapes how it can heat diners in December. Under a sloped cabana roof, the propane rules above limit where a heater can go. This post is general information drawn from the city's published documents. It is not legal or permitting advice, and any business planning a parklet should confirm the requirements with the city directly.

Why the city expects restaurants to invest

The city's bet rests on what has happened on Cal Ave since cars left. Urban architect Bruce Fukuji has led the Cal Ave plan. In presenting the guidelines in June, he said vacancy on the strip fell from 16% in 2023 to 7.5% in 2025, and that food sales revenue had risen 13%, according to Palo Alto Online.

Some of the street's largest restaurants backed the rules. The owners of iTalico, Terun and Zareen's all said they support the continued evolution of California Avenue as a pedestrian thoroughfare. Sahlik Khan, head of operations at Zareen's, wrote to the council that foot traffic had "increased tremendously since the closure." Maico and Franco Campilongo co-own iTalico and Terun. They also curated the classic cars at the May 28 launch of Thursday Live, the free monthly concert series that ran through September.

None of those three restaurants has publicly said it will rebuild, which design it would choose, or when. Support for the rules and a building permit are separate steps, and the rebuild comes after the permit.

The bike question is still open

The council has not yet settled how bikes will use Cal Ave. Staff had proposed thermoplastic bands across Cal Ave to discourage fast cyclists with a bumpy ride. Council members instead signaled they would rather steer cyclists to other streets. Along with adopting the parklet standards, they directed staff to develop a bike-free alternative.

Michael and Lara Ekwall, co-owners of La Bodeguita del Medio, wrote to the city that "the growing mix of bicycles, ebikes, scooters, pedestrians, delivery traffic, and outdoor dining activity has, at times, created congested, confusing, and unsafe conditions," as quoted by Palo Alto Online. Council member George Lu cast the only no vote. He said most cyclists are careful and warned that "reckless riders may be more dangerous without passive street designs that make cyclists slower and more predictable."

The city's Car-Free Streets project page still lists a February 2026 merchant meeting as its latest dated update. The new parklets will go up before the city decides how bikes move between them.

What is already on the calendar

Some of the winter on and near Cal Ave is already settled:

• Every Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The California Avenue Farmers' Market runs weekly year-round, rain or shine, according to its operator, Urban Village Farmers' Markets. The operator's 2026 closure calendar says its weekend markets stay open on the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year weekends.
• Late November. Croissante, known for inventive pastries including cube-shaped croissants, is expected to open at 321 California Ave., the former Antonio's Nut House space. That date comes from a September roundup in Palo Alto Online and is an expected date, not a confirmed one.
• Dec. 3 to 5. Gamble Garden's Winter Festival opens with a Thursday evening party that includes its first-ever Wine & Mocktail Tasting. A holiday marketplace with more than 20 vendors follows on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 4, 5:30 to 7 p.m. The city's free Holiday Tree Lighting at Lytton Plaza, 200 University Ave., features School of Rock, the Boost Class Merry Holiday Dancers and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra.

Backyard Brew at 444 California Ave. has been closed since February 2025. In the same September roundup, carried by The Almanac, the business was still waiting on permits, with a reopening hoped for about two months after they are issued. The city's Cal Ave Holiday Spectacular page still shows last year's Dec. 6, 2025 event, and no 2026 date has been posted.

The farmers market will set up on new asphalt every Sunday this winter. The open question is how many permanent parklets will be standing along it by the time the holiday season ends.

I'm Kathleen Pasin, a third-generation Palo Altan, and I follow changes like the Cal Ave rebuild closely because they shape what a home near the street is like to live in. If you own near California Avenue and want to know how these changes might affect your home's value, I'd be glad to put together a complimentary home valuation.