Temporary Outdoor Patio Program Continues for 2023 Season with a Plan to Include Public Property in Downtown
At our Burlington City Council meeting on March 21, we unanimously approved continuing our temporary outdoor patio program on private property for the 2023 season, and directed staff to start an application process to implement a plan for the use of public property in the downtown for temporary outdoor patios.We also approved once again waiving the fees and requirements for site plan approval and zoning clearance certificatesfor temporary outdoor patios and temporary tents (structures) on private property until Jan. 1, 2024, and on public property until Oct. 31, 2023.Click/tap here for a news release from the City of Burlington announcing the opening of applications for the 2023 patio program.MY TAKE:Thank you to the staff who have worked on this. It's a very thorough report and there's more to come. The patio program has been evolving for a long time and we all look forward to when it becomes permanent.I'm working with Ward Councillors Angelo Bentivegna and Lisa Kearns in their Deputy Mayor for Recreation & Community Services and Deputy Mayor for Community Engagement & Partnerships portfolios, respectively, to host a stakeholder patio discussion to solicit feedback from the community -- working with our local BIAs and downtown restaurant association -- for sometime in April. Based on what we hear from that meeting, there may be further pieces for public engagement.
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To view the related staff report and appendices, please see the links below:
- Staff report: PL-06-23 - City of Burlington Outdoor Patio Program for 2023
- Appendices:
Here is the full recommendation Council unanimously approved:Enact By-law 2020.455, attached as Appendix A to community planning department report PL-06-23, to permit temporary outdoor patios on private property; andWaive the fees and requirements for site plan approval and zoning clearance certificate for temporary outdoor patios and temporary tents (structures) on private property until Jan. 1, 2024, and on public property until Oct. 31, 2023; andAuthorize the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility, working in consultation with the Director of Community Planning, to approve temporary outdoor patios on private property, subject to such criteria and conditions as staff deem appropriate; andDirect the Director of Community Planning to initiate an application process to implement a plan for the use of public property in Downtown Burlington for temporary outdoor patios; andAuthorize the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility, working in consultation with the Director of Transportation, to approve temporary outdoor patios for restaurant and/or retail spaces on public property in Downtown Burlington, subject to such criteria and conditions as staff deem appropriate; andAuthorize the Executive Director of Legal Services and Corporation Counsel, working in consultation with the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility to approve licence agreements or such other agreements or documents as may be required to permit the temporary use of public property for approved temporary outdoor restaurant and/or retail space patios; andEnact By-law XX-2023, attached as Appendix B to community planning department report PL-06-23 to authorize the Director of Transportation to temporarily restrict the common law right-of-passage for vehicles over certain portions of streets within Downtown Burlington to facilitate the installation of temporary outdoor patios for restaurant and/or temporary retail space and create safe pedestrian passage ways; andAuthorize the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility to execute any agreements necessary to implement the recommendations set out in community planning department report PL-06-23 in a form satisfactory to the Executive Director of Legal Services and Corporation Counsel and with content satisfactory to the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility; andAuthorize the Director of Community Planning to grant or revoke such other approvals, consents, agreements or other authorizations and to take any such other steps as may from time to time be required to implement the recommendations set out in community planning development report PL-06-23.RELATED LINK: