The City of Milan, with resolution no. 32 of May 6, 2024, approved a new discipline for food and beverage activities within specific protected areas of the Municipality of Milan.
This measure represents a concrete response to the growing problems related to the excessive concentration of commercial establishments in some urban areas, particularly the so-called “movida” zones, where the influx, especially at night, of patrons is particularly intense with consequent negative impacts on the urban context.
The main purpose is to limit the environmental and social impact of food and beverage activities (e.g. restaurants, bars, cafeterias), promoting a planned management more attentive to the qualitative aspects, with the aim of ensuring a balance between economic development and business activity and the livability of urban areas, in line with the sustainability principles.
From the date of entry into force of the measure, August 19, 2024, within the municipal territory, the so-called protected zones have been divided into two areas: Zones to be protected and Zones to be highly protected. Within these zones, to start or transfer a food and beverage activity, it will no longer be sufficient to submit a Certified Notification of Start of Activity (S.C.I.A.), but it will be necessary to wait for the issuance of an authorization by the Municipality of Milan, which will evaluate the initiative based on the criteria and parameters provided by the regulation.
The applicant for the authorization must produce all the documentation suitable to demonstrate the existence of the minimum requirements and the score related to the qualitative indicators provided by the municipal regulations, relating both to the context in which the activity is inserted and to the quality of the service.
The authorization can only be issued upon reaching the minimum score provided, equal to 60 points for the zones to be protected and 80 points for those to be highly protected. The assigned score – and with it the qualitative measures that guarantee it – must be maintained from the start of the activity until its definitive closure, under penalty of the application of the sanctions provided by the regulation, including the revocation of the authorization title.
The provision of qualitative indicators represents the central point of the discipline and are identified as objective parameters and quality indices of the service. The indicators evaluate the positioning of the activity, penalizing those that are inserted in highly served contexts or are located near other food and beverage activities, as well as the characteristics of the new activity, such as the surface area , the presence of external occupations, opening hours, and, above all, the management of impacts related to the presence of patrons. Furthermore, the regulation offers managers the possibility of obtaining “bonus points” through actions aimed at improving the usability of the premises by people with reduced mobility or by adhering to social initiatives, such as hiring people belonging to disadvantaged categories. Sustainability, therefore, is a key theme of this new regulatory framework, whose measures are aimed at mitigating the typical problems of areas with a high influx of patrons, such as degradation, noise pollution, and episodes of disorder.
The new regulation, while it could make new openings more complicated, through the application of qualitative criteria, intends to promote a food and beverage model that is not only economically sustainable but also respectful of the social and environmental context.
