The president of the Majorca Restaurants Association, Alfonso Robledo, believes that the number of terraces in Palma will be slashed by new ordinance planned by the town hall. The bylaw will be negative and result in the disappearance of terraces and the loss of jobs. Robledo says that the terraces have made the city lively and cheerful. The town hall's measures will reverse this.
The bylaw envisages changes such as to space between terraces and the entrances to public buildings. This will increase from two to three metres. The association estimates that the various measures will lead to the loss of some 500 terraces; there are currently 1,782 in the whole of Palma. In addition, terrace space will be reduced, something else that will affect jobs. Robledo notes that employment by some bars is entirely dependent on terraces.
The association also rejects the proposed reduction in opening hours in winter. This would mean terraces closing at 11pm on weekdays and at midnight at weekends: respectively, an hour and half an hour earlier than at present. The opening time of 8am would be unaffected. Robledo adds that no distinction is being made between tourist and other areas of the city. He suggests that it shouldn't be necessary to be as strict with the non-tourist areas.
The ordinance covers various aspects of the use of the "public way". A possible novelty of the bylaw is that it would allow tents to be put up in a temporary fashion in public areas. It is understood that this proposal requires some further internal debate at the town hall among relevant municipal agencies.