Vowing not to be a killjoy mayor, John Tory is pledging to fight the “excessive” patio fee hikes proposed by city staff that have outraged restaurateurs and bar owners.
“I am not going to be the leader of or the mayor who attacks fun in this city,” Tory said Thursday. “Patios are an important part of my life” and help keep neighborhoods lively, he added.
While there should be “some compensation” to the city for anyone using a public asset, it needs to be fair and sensible and not drive smaller establishments out of business, he said.
Tory said he also thinks it’s appropriate for the city to review the existing café/patio and marketing use of sidewalks, and adjust fees accordingly, since that hasn’t been done in decades.
Licensing staff is proposing to dramatically boost fees charged to operate outdoor licensed and unlicensed patios in the city — in some cases more than 1,000 per cent — as part of the larger review to draft consistent city-wide standards for sidewalk cafes and displays. The permit fees vary depending on where in the city the patio is located.
Currently, an operator is charged $19.69 per square metre to sell alcohol and food in a designated area on a downtown Toronto sidewalk. This would increase to $296.01 per square metre, under the proposal. For an average 30-square-metre outdoor space, the current permit fee of $591 would jump to $8,880 at the end of a five-year phase-in period, according to city figures.
“The objective of the permit fee review is to balance the value of the sidewalk as a city asset with the public benefits that cafes/patios and marketing displays bring to local communities and residents,” licensing and planning department spokesperson Tammy Robinson wrote in email.
Toronto has 676 licensed patios. There are no licensing or permit fees for patios on private property.
Officials in the city’s real estate services calculated the estimated value of Toronto’s sidewalks. The proposed permit fees are approximately 55 per cent of the market value of the city’s sidewalks, Robinson said. A square meter of a downtown sidewalk is estimated to be worth $473.61
Representatives from the restaurant and bar industry, where profit margins can be minimal, are warning the increased cost could kill patio life in Toronto.
Harold Madi, former director of urban design for the city of Toronto, said it makes sense that “there is some payment that comes to renting, or leasing the space from the city,” he said.
“But the cost increase has to be something that takes into consideration not just what the cost of the space is but what is the likely profiting that happens on that space,” said Madi, now a senior principal at engineering and design firm Stantec.
Any new revenue raised by the city should be reinvested in Toronto’s public realm, which is “an embarrassment” for a city this size, Madi said. The city had not responded to a request for that information by deadline.
Municipal Licensing and Standards continues to hold consultations and will report to a committee of councillors in April. Council will have final say on what the fee hikes will be.
The proposed fee hikes would take effect in 2018.
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