Katy Trail Ice House - Plano Texas
N 33° 01.596 W 096° 47.345
14S E 706493 N 3656407
Located on the southwest corner of Preston Rd. and Coit.
Waymark Code: WMR0ZN
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2016
Views: 2
The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to amend its health code to allow canines at outside seating areas. Restaurants must apply for a variance before they are allowed to welcome the animals.
The change has been in the works for months. The Katy Trail Ice House Outpost led the charge, asking customers to contact city officials and express their support.
The Katy Trail Ice House Outpost opened on Park Boulevard this summer and had hoped to re-create the dog-friendly atmosphere of its Uptown Dallas location but was notified by the Plano Health Department that allowing dogs on its patio was against city code.
“I just think that the citizens of Plano and I know our customers would be really delighted [about a rule change],” co-owner Buddy Cramer told the council Tuesday. “This is a family-friendly thing and a business-friendly thing and all of that wrapped into one.”
Six people spoke at a public hearing on the issue, and all expressed support. But city officials did hear from people who were worried about health issues or simply didn’t want to dine near dogs.
In the end, council members said the decision should be left to restaurants.
Austin, Dallas and San Antonio all have ordinances allowing dogs to eat outside. Those cities have a combined 30,000 restaurants. Only about 100 have applied for variances, Plano city officials said.
City staff said no other restaurants or bars have indicated that they would apply for a variance.