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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2015-06-17, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, June 17, 2015 New patio bylaw poised to be ratified Marco Vigliotti Huron Expositor Restaurants owners looking to offer an outdoor dining space for customers will need to successfully apply for a permit from the munici- pality and pay an annual fee of either $75 or $150 if a proposed licensing bylaw is adopted. The set of regulations was given first and second readings at the June 2 meeting of Huron East council, who then referred the mat- ter to the economic development committee for further review. The earliest the planned bylaw would return to council for ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! DEADLINES Our Weekly Deadlines are as follows: ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL Friday @ 2:00 pm Huron Expositor 8 Main St., Seaforth PH: 519-527-0240 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com OFFICE HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 9am - 5pm CLOSED TUESDAYS OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Seaforth Huron Expositor are as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 9am - 5pm Seaforth Mon Expositor 8 Main Street, Seaforth ON PH: 519-527-0240 www. seaforthhuronexpositor .com 1 1 1 1 1 1 consideration is July 7, says Brad Knight, the municipality's chief administrator officer. If passed it would constitute the first formal rules governing so- called sidewalk patios and cafes in Huron East. The move to establish a regula- tory scheme was prompted by a request from Jeff Miller, who had sought to set up an outdoor patio this summer on the east side of the building in Brussels that hosts his Jam Jar restaurant. In an address to council, Miller said he was told by an unidenti- fied individual that he could be charged with trespassing by the OPP if he continued to clear up what he described as a "rutted" sec- tion of sidewalk outside the Turn - berry Road establishment to allow for the installation of the patio. After pressing the issue and dis- covering that the municipality did not have a bylaw governing these sorts of outdoor dining setups, he raised concerns that Cinnamon Jim's, another establishment in Brussels, was using its side yards for the same purpose - even install- ing a steel railing and pergola. "I apologize it came to do this but everyone had to be held accountable on this here patio issue," Miller told council. "I'm not trying to make troubles with Cin- namon Jim's, again I am just trying to get this even playing field." Under the proposed bylaw, UFeLCr1+xl ft- rar.+ix.1rVi'rims I)IRi:. -1. TO F (N• A CO I1LE1F LINT' OF CASUAL FURNITURE COMPLIMENT AULAREAS OFYOUR HOW. For outdoor,, paiios, gdrden Fl r u ua rerlrifittrl+re e a•IrthA%.F Nuthrrras. :Monthly - Friday 90O - SMO Saturday 10:00 - 4:I10 519-238-2110 www• ocasu aI,j which Knight says was modelled after similar legislation in West Perth and Orangeville, the size of a sidewalk cafe or patio is restricted to the width of their respective businesses, with the installation of picnic tables strictly prohibited. It also limits these dining spaces from consuming the entirety of the sidewalk. "What the draft bylaw speaks to is to is that to keep a sidewalk walk- ing alking space of one to two metres available," Knight explained. Music or any sort of entertain- ment is prohibited on the outdoor patios or cafes after 9 p.m. under the prospective bylaw, which also requires the seating capacity to be included in the businesses occu- pancy totals. This means the seating offered to customers both outdoors and inside the building cannot exceed the maximum occupancy level for the dining establishment. The draft bylaw sets forward two different sorts of rules for patios and cafes, both of which are defined in stiff legalese as a "group of tables and chairs and other accessories situated and main- tained upon on a public sidewalk." A fence, however, must enclose patios, whereas no such require- ment exists for sidewalk cafes. The cost for an annual license for a cafe is only $75, while for patios it totals $150. Alcohol consumption, however, is permitted on a patio but not on a cafe. Knight singled out liability insur- ance as a major consideration going forward, saying in a report to council that is was likely the "most significant issue" facing the munic- ipality as any outdoor spaces would be located either partly or entirely on municipal property. Scoreboard Seaforth Shuffleboard June 10 Men's high: Cor Vanden Hoven 3 wins; Lloyd Hoy, Erich Matzold, Joe Van Dooren, Jim Davis, Antonio, 2 wins. Ladies' high: Joyce Matzold, Audrey Hoff 3 wins; Carol Hoy and Grace Corbett 2 wins.