Under the city’s proposed 2022 outdoor patio guidelines, downtown-restaurant owners would need only pay a $619 business-license fee, plus $2.65 per square foot of patio space, to establish either a sidewalk patio and boardwalk extension or a pop-up patio in front of their restaurant this year.
After waiving the fees for outdoor patios and the delivery, installation and takedown of boardwalk sidewalk extensions in front of downtown restaurants during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stratford councilors are now looking at how to charge restaurants that want to offer outdoor seating this year.
At Monday’s planning and heritage committee meeting, councilors reviewed the city’s 2022 outdoor patio guidelines, which are similar to the 2021 guidelines except for a few legislative and insurance requirement changes, as well as the addition of a temporary tents-or-canopies policy and the stipulation that any request by a participating business to remove a boardwalk extension for sidewalk patios prior to the end of patio season, which is from May 1 to Oct. 31, would be done at the business’ expense.
The City of Stratford first introduced optional boardwalk extensions in 2020 as a pandemic-relief measure to allow participating downtown restaurant owners to shift the pedestrian portion of the sidewalk onto the street parking area so they could establish outdoor seating areas on the concrete sidewalks directly in front of their restaurants. The program was initially offered at no cost to participating businesses.
“Are we planning to adopt what we did in 2021 … like, have it free again this year, and then by next year businesses should be (in a better position)?” count. Bonnie Henderson asked. “(And) what about the boardwalks and stuff being put in?”
“There would be no fee to install or remove the boardwalks under this structure, but the business-license fees are currently in effect,” deputy clerk Chris Bantock said.
In accordance with the city’s fees and charges bylaw for 2022, the cost of an outdoor café business license is $619 plus $2.65 per square foot of patio space.
count. Dave Gaffney, however, questioned whether the business-license fees would cover the $24,500 budgeted this year by the city to deliver, install and disassemble the patio boardwalk extensions and apply a slip-resistance coating to them if necessary.
In March 2021, before councilors ultimately waived all patio and boardwalk fees for the season in May as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, council established and then abandoned an outdoor patio fee schedule that would have seen restaurants pay $1,176 over the six-month patio season for sidewalk patios requiring the boardwalk extension, plus $800 for delivery, installation and takedown of the boardwalk.
“Any fees that we collect from the business license fees will help to cover those expenses that we budgeted for,” Bantock said Monday. “The $800 that was previously discussed last year in terms of an install and removal fee for the boardwalks; that is not currently in effect.”
But with nearly all pandemic restrictions, including indoor capacity limits, set to be lifted by the province as of March 21, Gaffney suggests that the restaurants who want the patio boardwalk extensions should be charged enough to completely cover the city’s associated expenses.
“The other thing I have concern about is the loss of revenue from the actual parking spaces for what they’re actually intended to be used for,” Gaffney said. “It’s going to be lost to us again for another year here. And as I’ve said before, I have some concern with taking all this parking from downtown for the other (retail) businesses in the core that … aren’t being provided this sort of accommodation.”
In response, Bantock said that should the same number of businesses participate in this year’s patio boardwalk program that participated in 2021, the city will recoup all costs associated with the boardwalks.
Though Bantock did not address Gaffney’s concerns over lost parking revenue, he noted in his report to committee that the fee schedule for patio boardwalk extensions and pop-up patios that was ultimately abandoned by council last year was designed to help the city recover any lost parking came back.
“This is completely anecdotal, but the businesses I talked to really liked the program, and so did the bosses,” Coun. Jo-Dee Burbach said, asking Bantock whether the city had asked participating businesses about their experience with the program last year. “They had an increased seating capacity and … that would probably really help revenues (this year) if they were able to serve more people.
“I also think that people are still feeling uncomfortable in indoor spaces, so being able to provide that additional outdoor seating, I think, would really encourage people to come out and be patrons at our restaurants. I see it as a very positive program which would make up for some of the inconvenience of maybe parking … a little bit further away.”
Stratford council will consider adoption of the city’s proposed 2022 outdoor patio guidelines at its March 28 meeting.