City relaxes red tape for sidewalk cafes.
City expediting applications
The owners of Tres Carnales applied last year for a permit to set up a few tables on the sidewalk outside their popular downtown Mexican restaurant, but the City of Edmonton turned them down. No explanation was given. When Tres Carnales applied again this year, city officials came out, looked at the site and even suggested the owners make their sidewalk café bigger than they had planned.
Construction was finished Friday and the patio is expected to open this week if final approvals from the fire marshal and Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission come through.
What a difference a year — and new streamlined rules on sidewalk cafés — can make.
“City Hall really came to bat for us and now we’ve got even more space out there than we ever lobbied for,” said Chris Sills, co-owner of Tres Carnales.
When the restaurant’s sidewalk patio was turned down, it sparked a “bring-your-ownpatio” block party on RiceHoward Way among the restaurant’s supporters to protest the city’s outdoor dining rules.
Although the words are used interchangeably, patio cafés are usually on private property while sidewalk cafés take up space on public land and businesses therefore need to jump through more regulatory hoops to open one. Once granted preliminary approval for a sidewalk café, restaurateurs need a development permit from the city’s sustainable development branch, permission must be gained from transportation services for the use of the roadway, a food handling permit for the outdoor area must be granted by Alberta Health Services, a fire marshal will set occupancy limits and if the restaurant wants to serve alcohol outside, it must obtain a separate liquor licence.
Sills is following the same procedure this year as he did in 2012, but he says the city is noticeably more flexible and communicative in its dealings with him.
“The simplification lies in the communication between sustainable development and transportation because when we first applied, the left hand didn’t really know what the right hand was doing,” Sills said. “There wasn’t a lot of guidance given to people.
“It certainly is easier. They’re very co-operative. They’re not trying to stifle us. They’re giving me their personal phone numbers and saying get a hold of me if you have any questions. … We’re finding it’s this way with every one these days instead of blind bureaucracy.”
The change in attitude comes after city council directed administration in April to promote an al fresco culture in Edmonton by streamlining the rules.
“What we’ve done is shorten the timeline to get an approval and we’ve simplified the process,” said Scott Mackie, manager of the city’s current planning branch.
The city created two classes of sidewalk cafés: the minors and the majors. Minor sidewalk cafés, which are just a few tables and chairs outside a restaurant, get approved right away, Mackie said. The major ones, in which alcohol will be served and there will be construction of permanent structures such as railings, still require a more formal process, but the approval time has been shortened, he said.
The relaxed rules have already sparked more interest in opening outdoor spaces from restaurateurs.