Restrictions on outdoor dining in Connecticut are relaxing and Gov. Ned Lamont held a bill signing ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
The legislation allows restaurants to operate under the relaxed rules through March 31, 2022 and for cities and towns to expedite changes to their zoning rules to expand the availability of outdoor dining and retail activity if they wish.
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“These relaxed rules could be the start of a new Connecticut tradition that increases activity in our towns,” Lamont said in a statement last month after the state House of Representatives passed the legislation. “One positive outcome of this unfortunate pandemic has been that we’ve been thinking about new, creative ways to offer activities outdoors, including at restaurants. Expanded outdoor dining has created a vibrancy in many of our neighborhoods in ways that we haven’t seen before, all while supporting locally owned, small businesses. This is a great bill, and I urge the Senate to pass it so that I can sign it into law.”
Lamont will hold a bill signing ceremony at Millwright’s Restaurant in Simsbury at noon.