Pandemic patio rules should be made permanent, committee says
UPDATE | Council unanimously approved this item at its meeting on Dec. 8, 2021.
The new-look patio landscape that's emerged in Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic could stick around for years to come.
The city's planning committee voted unanimously Monday in favour of a zoning bylaw amendment that would make permanent some of the relaxed patio regulations introduced during the depths of the pandemic.
The temporary bylaw approved by council in July 2020 got rid of mandatory 30-metre and 75-metre buffers between patios and residential zones, with the specific buffer depending on whether those patios had screens or not.
It also allowed patios to go up on parking lots, though not on accessible spaces.
The changes offered a "lifeline" to businesses that had "found themselves in incredibly desperate straits" thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, said David Wise, program manager with the city's zoning unit, at Monday's virtual meeting.
The pre-pandemic rules meant many restaurants and bars on the city's main streets were unable to have outdoor dining, Wise said.
"This was a regulatory barrier that was getting in the way of small businesses being able to improve the quality of life along our streets," Wise told the planning committee.
Concerns about noise
The proposed amendment would require patios within 30 metres of a residential zone to erect a "visual screen," while also prohibiting them from using amplifiers to play music.
Since the changes were initially introduced, residents filed 13 complaints to the city's bylaw department about issues like noise, sidewalk accessibility, and potentially illegal structures like tents built on the patio itself, according to Monday's report.
Residents may have silently grumbled without filing official complaints because they didn't want to hamstring businesses already struggling to survive, said Cheryl Parrott with the Hintonburg Community Association.
Parrott, the lone public delegation to speak about patios at Monday's meeting, said it was "essential" those visual patio screens also served as some sort of noise barrier — especially as crowd sizes could be larger next summer and operating hours longer.
More bylaw officers would also be needed to handle complaints, she added.
"We like the patios. We support the small businesses," Parrott said. "So some parts of this are good, but there's not enough in terms of mitigation."
The zoning amendment was ultimately approved with a few slight tweaks, including that staff develop a "good neighbour" document for patio owners around issues like screens and noise.
It will now go to full council Wednesday for final approval.
