For decades, it turns out, needlessly onerous regulations had deprived Californians of both the pleasure of eating outdoors and the convivial streetscapes that curbside dining creates. Before COVID-19, “a restaurant or bar, in order to serve outside, would basically have to expand their liquor permit,” state Senator Scott Wiener told The New York Times in June. “It could be a lengthy, difficult process, with appeals.” But last year, as desperate restaurant owners looked for ways to protect their business from a coronavirus that spreads most readily indoors, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued emergency rules that said that if a city allowed it, they could expand alcohol sales outside, he continued. “That’s been great, not just for bars or restaurants, but patrons like it,” Wiener said. “And it activates public spaces.”

Indeed, large and small municipalities alike relaxed their own restrictions in ways that helped local businesses, pleased consumers, enabled people-watching, and transformed spaces for parked cars into gathering places for humans. If the lost square footage denied a motorist a parking spot, it helped multiple diners. And improved urban and suburban streets were achieved at bargain prices for taxpayers, as most costs were covered by restaurateurs, who built and maintained the new spaces.

It’s a story that ought to end happily—and teach politicians a valuable lesson: that regulatory reforms are needed so that positive change can occur under normal conditions rather than requiring governors and mayors to suspend stifling rules during emergencies.

Instead, red tape is already creeping back like an invasive vine.