LOS ANGELES—Though COVID-19 capacity limits and indoor mask mandates are now a thing of the past, outdoor dining may be here to stay in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Council took a step to preserve the city’s “Al Fresco” program, which allows restaurants and food vendors to use sidewalks, street lanes, and parking lots for outdoor dining. To make the program permanent, the council unanimously approved a motion on March 22 to instruct the Department of City Planning to collaborate with other departments to prepare an ordinance. Last April, Mayor Eric Garcetti called to make the program permanent during his State of the City address and requested nearly $2 million in grants for restaurants in low-income neighborhoods to set up permanent lots for outdoor dining. “In a city whose unofficial motto is 72 and sunny, let’s make al fresco dining permanent,” Garcetti said. The program was then introduced by …