Boston restaurants can get emergency approval to add outdoor seating once they're allowed to re-open for diners

To deal with new COVID-19 restrictions that will shrink indoor seating capacity, the Boston Licensing Board has approved an emergency measure under which restaurants can put seating outside once the city lifts the ban on in-restaurant dining. Unlike with other major seating modifications, the owners will not have to first meet with neighborhood groups and schedule a public hearing, a process which can often take weeks to arrange, but instead simply file an application that the board will act on at its regular weekly meetings.