It could be included, within a month and a half, in the competition bill that the executive must present every year. And the proposal has already put the Municipalities on alert and Codacons on a war footing. A permanent extension to the exemption on the rules of public space for dehors, which was introduced in 2020 in the midst of the Covid emergency to give relief to commercial activities already affected by lockdown. Year after year the exemption has been renewed and now the Meloni government would like to make it permanent, according to the Minister of Made in Italy Adolfo Urso. “We are developing, within the bill on competition, a provision to make outdoor tables and terraces structural, so that they are also an element of urban decoration”, he said on the sidelines of the Fipe event in the Chamber Catering Day, «we discussed this provision with the sector associations and obviously also with the Anci, and therefore with the Municipalities. We think it could be an opportunity to make catering even more functional to sociality and to that urban decor which is increasingly affirmed in historic centres.” The exemption deprives the Superintendencies of issuing authorizations and allows the installation of dehors but also the possibility for businesses to place umbrellas, platforms, tables and chairs outdoors. Subject to authorization from the Municipalities and payment of a fee, where required by the municipal regulation.
The reaction of Anci and Codacons
The president of ANCI Antonio Decaro said he was willing to listen to the government’s proposal, implying that so far there has not been the necessary discussion. «We are waiting to know all the details of Minister Urso’s proposal and we hope that this is the right time», he responded to Urso’s words, «it is important that the minister consults with the ANCI and listens to the requests of the Municipalities to have rules certain that they facilitate the offices in their work. There is no doubt that outdoor tables and dehors, especially after Covid, have supported the economic and social recovery in cities, but clear rules are needed to support economic activities while avoiding wild occupations.” Codacons, on the other hand, was clearly against it, using very strong words to reject the executive’s proposal and saying it was “ready for the barricades”. «This is a rape against the historic centers and cities and an immense gift to bars and restaurants at the expense of the citizens», said President Carlo Rienzi, «despite the fact that the conditions of the Covid emergency which had allowed bars and restaurants to occupy public land with a wild invasion of platforms and tables, the government wants to make structural a measure that has only caused chaos and degradation. Dehors, umbrellas, platforms, tables and chairs installed on streets and squares cause enormous damage to citizens, who are deprived of public spaces and forced to walk slaloming between the structures placed by bars and restaurants. A chaos that also damages urban decorum and tourism, ruining the image of our cities in the eyes of foreign visitors. Not to mention the illegal construction and the absence of controls, which often leads to the occupation of more public space than that allowed by local regulations.”
The opposition of the Municipality of Rome
The Capitol’s judgment was also harsh. For the councilor for Productive Activities of Rome Capital Monica Lucarelli «it is absurd and unacceptable that Minister Urso and the central government decide unilaterally for local administrations: the decision to maintain the dehors resulting from the pandemic without taking into account local specificities is an evident a sign of arrogance and disinterest on the part of the central government”. Since 2019 in the capital, where the extension has remained in force as it was conceived during the emergency period and only recently the administration has adopted a new regulation to better regulate it, 4 thousand more outdoor areas have been installed, especially in the historic center. «This move», added Lucarelli, «is clearly dictated by political interests and does not take into consideration the true needs of local residents and entrepreneurs. In Rome, we have worked tirelessly on a new regulation considering the different urban planning peculiarities of the city. We have carefully studied the various urban fabrics, recognizing that what is appropriate, for example, in a UNESCO site or in a historic city with medieval or Renaissance fabrics may not be appropriate in a twentieth-century context. We will not allow our urban planning work to be ignored and trampled upon from above.” The president of the Trade Commission Andrea Alemanni echoes her: «Quite simply: it cannot be done. Urso speaks incompetently about a very serious topic that should instead be studied. In clear violation and contrast with the autonomy and responsibilities that local authorities have towards citizens. Enough with useless slogans.”
Problems and differences
According to data from the Italian Federation of public establishments, over 55% of bars and restaurants also have tables outside, 7.6% have expanded the occupation of public land compared to the pre-Covid period and 6.5% have ‘it started precisely because of the pandemic, leveraging emergency legislation. The outdoor spaces for commercial activities would have increased by 750 thousand square meters, approximately 180 thousand tables and 450 thousand more seats. A breath of fresh air for clubs and businesses, less so for public spaces, especially in historic centres. This increase did not always translate into greater revenues for the Municipalities. First of all, because initially the exemption provided for the free occupation of public land. And then just look at the case of Naples: in the face of increased revenues estimated at 18 million euros owed, the Municipality has managed to collect less than half of it and is engaged in a fight against illegal installations. In Bari, the Superintendence has returned to imposing limitations on dehors, in Milan from December 2023 occupancy fees have been raised by around 30 percent, in Bologna restrictions have been introduced, as well as in Turin and Florence.
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