Parklets, where restaurants extend their seating into parking places in downtown, have once again been debated. (Richard Coe/The Bulletin)

If you are in search of happiness, inner peace and easy conquest, don’t go search for a parking space in downtown Bend.

It depends on when you go, of course. We can’t speak for you, but only sometimes it’s easy to find a spot close to the intended destination. It depends on the plans of other people and they do not plan their lives around you. It also can depend on how many spaces are currently taken up by parklets.

Parklets are what those things are called when a business, a restaurant, stretches out into adjacent parking spaces, claiming that territory for its own.

The added space and seating can mean more revenue and more happy customers. Customers can bring their dogs along. The Lemon Tree said it boosted its revenue by 8.5%. In the restaurant world of fine margins, every percent counts.

And yet, plenty of people complain about parklets because they devour parking. As of June, the city said it was 30 parking spaces. The limit is 5% of the total spaces available, or about 80 spaces, that can be converted to parklets, the city said.

The parklet space is mostly occupied by customers in the warmer months. The parklets stick around anyway when the weather turns cold. The Downtown Bend Business Association suggested they be removed in the colder months.

We don’t have any problem with the way they look. The downtown association called on the Bend City Council to implement design standards. Making them all look the same would be boring. Giving somebody at the city authority to review designs based on taste could generate some less than tasty controversy.

The association also wants the fees increased. Right now, the fees are $50 at the time of application submission for accessibility review, a $1,000 fee at the time of submission and $60 per month per space. There are also renewal fees.

Is that enough for that spot of real estate in downtown? How would you put a value on a parking space?

There is no Goldilocks solution for parklets. Tell Bend City Councilors what you want done. Email them at council@bendoregon.gov.