The Madrid City Council will expand the terrace areas until the end of the year once phase 1 is reached | Madrid

The terraces of the bars and restaurants of the capital may extend along the façade of the building in which they are located and of the adjacent ones when the Community of Madrid enters phase 1, that is, respecting commercial establishments. They can also be installed at crossroads between streets provided the visibility of the movement of vehicles is ensured, and they can be attached to the facades, in unpaved areas (unpaved) and, exceptionally, on parking spaces and spaces between blocks. that are not for private use. These are the conditions and measures established by the Madrid City Council’s Terrace Commission for the 5,323 authorized terraces in the city.

On music, the City Council has adapted the existing regulations of the Community to the municipal level. Thus, bars that have a terrace can put music inside as long as it does not exceed 80 decibels, except in the Special Acoustic Protection Zones (ZPAE). In addition, generally in the entire municipality, the hours of the terraces are established from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of public holidays, except in those areas ZAPE, where the schedule is maintained according to the level of acoustic protection.

The City Council argues that the purpose is that the hoteliers are worth raising the blind. In other words, place more tables to compensate for the reduction in half of the occupation

The new criteria do not need to be voted in committee or plenary session. They will be compulsory for all businesses that request the expansion of their terraces and will be temporary, so that both their validity and that of the authorizations granted in this regard will be valid until December 31, 2020. Upon entering phase 1, the Councilors from each district will be the ones to issue a decree lifting the suspension of the terraces agreed in its day, adjusting it to SDN Order 399/2020, which limits the tables allowed to 50%.

The purpose of the measures is to expand the areas authorized to install terraces without modifying said decree, so that the hoteliers are worth raising the blind. In other words, place more tables to compensate for the reduction in half. According to the City Council, they fulfill the triple objective of “not eroding the interests of other sectors, not interfering in the movement of pedestrians and at the same time complying with the regulations on universal accessibility”.

The Delegated Area for Territorial Coordination, Transparency and Citizen Participation considers that “it has sought to relax previous restrictions to contribute to the revival of the city’s economy without undermining the rights of merchants and neighbors.” However, the regulations have sparked controversy between the neighborhood and the bars for weeks, especially in the downtown area. Saturnino Vera, president of the Cava La Latina Neighborhood Association, pointed out days ago that the extension of hours and surface “will produce noise and inconvenience.” At the moment, the association has ordered a pair of sound level meters to measure the noise level. “That the hoteliers ask for tolerance and patience is just the same thing that we asked for, that they have tolerance with the neighbor and take care of it with the environment, who are also customers”, he considered.

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