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Harminder Singh

Long-time Sai Kung resident Rosemary Torrance has launched an online petition calling on the government to show greater support for alfresco dining in the town.
The “Occupy Seating in Sai Kung” petition was sparked after the Food and Environmental Health Department (FEHD) fined several Sai Kung restaurants for violations of outdoor seating laws.
Policy on al fresco dining ‘has no bite’
It says officials need to speed up requests for outdoor dining licences from Sai Kung eateries and stop overzealous crackdowns on small operators in the area, which is a popular weekend dining destination for Hongkongers.
Torrance was prompted to start the petition when she went to dine at a local burger shop last year and FEHD officers took action while she and her friends were waiting on seats outside the 200-square- foot shop.
She said department officers issued fines of “HK$500 per head”, claiming the outdoor seating was for dining use even though Torrance and her friends tried to explain they were waiting to be seated indoors.

According to Torrance, the officers were unreceptive to their pleas.
“In a space of 15 minutes, the restaurant probably lost a day’s worth of takings,” she said.
After making further inquiries, Torrance said the department’s explanation was that the seating blocked pedestrian traffic. However, she said the areas where outdoor seating was restricted was very wide, and did not impede pedestrian flow.
Restaurants or bars that want to use open areas for alfresco dining must apply for an Outdoor Seating Accommodation (OSA) licence.
Applicants must meet several requirements in order to secure a licence, including hygiene, right of land use, planning, building safety, fire safety, traffic and environment.
Approvals must be obtained from seven different government departments – the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Lands Department, Buildings Department, Fire Services Department, Planning Department, Transport Department and Home Affairs Department – as well as the local community.
While a number of restaurants in Sai Kung have an OSA license and provide alfresco dining, many have been left waiting years for approval.
Popular Sai Kung tapas bar, Casa, opened a second outlet last year opposite their original restaurant, to obtain the previous owner’s OSA licence.
Casa had set up outdoor seating and tables in their original location, but were prosecuted by the department for serving outside of the licensed area.

To avoid being given a citation, co-owner Nathan Fleck said the original restaurant gave customers plastic cups if they wanted to drink outside of the restaurant. That way they could claim the drinks were strictly for takeaway.
“It’s a more easily defensible position” if his establishment were to be prosecuted again.
The maximum penalty for operating an OSA business without approval is HK$10,000 and three months imprisonment, on top of a daily fine of HK$300. Demerit points may also be levied which can lead to suspension or cancellation of the restaurant licence.
Casa applied for an OSA licence two years ago. It is still being processed.
Fleck said they had even made necessary changes to their application after objections were raised. “We’ve reduced the [OSA] area we’ve applied for by a third,” he said.
Classified opened for business in Sai Kung in 2011 and immediately applied for an OSA licence. Five years later, it is still waiting for approval.
Classified manager Connie Law said the lack of alfresco dining provided by her restaurant is affecting business.
“Especially during summer time, when the weather is good in the morning for breakfast, people with pets don’t come [to our restaurant],” she said.
Law believes disapproval from tenants above their restaurant may be what is causing the delay in their application.
To get customers to dine and drink at their restaurant, Law said they run promotions to make up for the drop in business that may be caused by diners who wish to eat outside.
Catering sector legislator Tommy Cheung Yu-yan has been a supporter of alfresco dining in Hong Kong since the 1990s. He feels the OSA licensing requirements are too strict, specifically when a single person or department can cause a licence application to be rejected.
“We are regressing not progressing with OSA,” he said.
“The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, in dealing with OSA, when they see one objection, they kind of freeze and then just say ‘no’.”
A spokesman for the department said it had been striking a balance between the “interests of all relevant stakeholders and restauranteurs on alfresco dining” in Sai Kung.
He added that “from time to time” the department received complaints relating to street obstruction or unauthorised use of government land “from different parties”.
“Unauthorised and indiscriminate alfresco dining not only leads to street obstruction in Sai Kung, but also causes environmental hygiene and noise problems to upstairs and nearby residents,” he said.
Torrance has sought the help of Sai Kung district council chairman, George Ng Sze-fuk, who has agreed to help her and restaurant owners over OSA. Ng plans to bring all relevant departments, restaurant owners and campaigners together for a discussion.
Torrance said she hoped the petition and meeting arranged by Ng would help “make a blueprint of how to manage the [application] process better” and eliminate grey areas.
At publication time, the petition had more than 900 signatures, with a target of 1,000.
The petition is on https://www.change.org/p/fehd-unobstructed-alfresco-dining-in-sai-kung


Hongkongers shall not dine outside: Sai Kung residents and restaurant owners frustrated with alfresco dining regulations

Casa co-owner Nathan Fleck (standing) is far from happy with the regulatory system. Photo: Nora Tam

Sai Kung resident is agitating to have the government recognize alfresco dining in Sai Kung. 15JUN16 SCMP/Nora Tam

Rosemary Torrance, organiser of Occupy Seating in Sai Kung, who supports outdoor seating at Sai Kung restaurants 15JUN16 SCMP/Nora Tam

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Hong Kong

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Online petition hopes to add pressure to the Food and Environmental Health Department to streamline and ease regulations for outdoor dining
