Tillsonburg restaurants hoping to create more space for customers while adhering to public health guidelines got some good news this week.
The Tillsonburg council has passed a new bylaw that allows for temporary outdoor patios, utilizing sidewalk and parking areas to expand restaurant capacity. Additionally, this bylaw eliminates any fees or charges for the current year.
The idea for these pop-up patios was presented by the Tillsonburg Business Improvement Area during a meeting on May 25. A following staff report backed the request, stating that town staff would handle the necessary permits.
The curbside patios must be located directly in front of the respective businesses, while parking lot patios should be next to those locations. Sufficient space must also be available to meet the two-metre physical distancing requirement.
Each business will cover its own patio costs, but the Tillsonburg BIA will allow them to use its outdoor patio furniture free of charge.
When asked by Coun. Deb Gilvesy if this bylaw could be extended into another year, town clerk Michelle Smibert mentioned that council could reconsider it later.
“We thought we would use this season as a pilot season to see if we needed to make any changes to the guidelines or to the process,” she said. “So that’s the intent, but we just want to take a look at it for this season so we can evaluate it and make a decision and bring forth some recommendations.”
Town staff examined similar initiatives in Hamilton, Stratford, Woodstock, and London.
Once a permit is submitted, processing takes about seven days, according to Kevin De Leebeeck, the town’s director of operations.
“It’s imperative to get this forward as fast as possible. … Our intent is to process these as fast as we can.
“It’s going to take some time to actually go out on site and check it out and make sure that everything is safe; get an understanding of what they are talking about. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to take us a little bit of time to make sure everything is set up properly.
A large portion of the province began its second stage of reopening on Friday when the Ontario government permitted services like restaurants and bars to open their patios for customers.
There won’t be any impact on accessibility standards throughout downtown and other areas, Mayor Stephen Molnar stated. Proposals must avoid interfering with pedestrian crossings while maintaining an accessible walking path.
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COVID-19
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