Victoria council Thursday directed staff to explore potential changes to a bylaw that could extend the life of a pair of neighbourhood pub patios.
Staff will examine the implications of expanding allowable patios on public spaces and closed streets and adding more flexibility to its patio policy.
Fifth Street Bar and Grill in the Quadra-Hillside neighbourhood and Beagle Pub in Cook Street Village have been directed to close their patios by May 31 because a new bylaw adopted in March bans patios on softscape boulevards.
Mayor Marianne Alto said she wants staff to use the same kind of innovative thinking that helped establish the outdoor vending and patio culture during the pandemic to modify and improve the new patio bylaw.
“I think this is good to do this work now before we get too far into the season and too far beyond a variety of deadlines … I hope that it points our staff to considering that there may be an appetite at council to look at a little more flexibility, a little bit more innovation, and potentially more uses of public spaces … that could build on the remarkable vibrance that has accrued almost unintentionally by the changes we implemented over the last couple of years,” she said.
Alto also hinted there would be a further motion that could address the May deadline the two pubs are facing.
The new bylaw is a return to pre-pandemic rules, which had been suspended when the city introduced the Business Recovery from Pandemic Bylaw and related Build Back Victoria program, which permitted patios so businesses could meet pandemic-related social distancing requirements.
That program — extended twice before expiring at the end of March — was designed to help with economic recovery as the pandemic waned and restrictions were relaxed.
The program was popular, with at least 36 patios established around the city during the pandemic, most of them along sidewalks or in parking spaces in front of the businesses. Two were set up on boulevards.
With business getting back to normal, the city adopted the Patio Regulation Bylaw in March, with an eye to maintaining some of the vibrant patios and street life realized during the pandemic while protecting the integrity of public space and city assets.
Coun. Dave Thompson said he would like more flexibility to be built into the bylaw, which he hopes would mean more of the patios stick around post-pandemic.
“Over the past few years, what we’ve seen is a number of patios get put in place, which have really been the silver lining to the pandemic,” he said.
The Patio Regulation Bylaw allows eligible businesses to apply for either simple temporary patios to be set up daily, or complex patios with semi-permanent structures. There are options for seasonal and annual licences.
The complex patios can be operated on sidewalks, in select plazas and parks, or on roadways, while simple patios are limited to sidewalks, plazas and select parks.
The bylaw also includes an inspection process to ensure safety and accessibility, but does not allow patios on softscape boulevards. According to city staff, the concern is that when patios are built on landscaping, they destroy it.
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