Patio issue defused - for now

The patio at Duncan's restaurant can stay where it is - for now. The councillors who wanted to repeal the old patio bylaw decided at the last moment to defer the motion (moved by Councillor Jeffrey, seconded by Councillor Labelle). Had it passed, it would have made all downtown patios illegal until (or if) a new patio bylaw comes into force.

That would have had several side effects. First, it would have meant no one in the downtown could have a patio until a new bylaw was passed, not merely Duncan's, so the downtown would be pretty barren. I'm not sure about the "sidewalk" patios that are merely unfenced tables and chairs, but they probably would have been at risk, too. No one could have sat outside enjoying a coffee or a meal on our nice, newly widened main street. Like I've said in the past, if we don't have people on the main street, it may be pretty, but it is a sterile downtown.

The proposed new licensing bylaw that contains the patio provisions has several obstacles before it gets passed, and it is possible that some sections - including the patio section - won't get passed immediately (if ever). With the old one gone, it would make it illegal to put out patios for most or even all of the summer while council wrangles over the new bylaw.

In an unexpected moment of common sense, the council supporters of the motion (the five who also support moving the patios curbside - Sandberg, Labelle, McNabb, Foley and Jeffrey) decided it would show discretion to hold off repealling the old one until the new one is much closer to being passed. It was one of those rare moments of clarity when the miasma that usually clouds council decisions lifted and suddenly the reality of what we were doing came into focus.

Or maybe not. It was probably just like those freak weather events; a passing incident of great rarity.

It would have meant also that Duncan's would have paid for a full season of patio use, only to be shut down without recompense after a couple of weeks. I didn't think that was fair. At the very least we should have refunded some of the licence fee if we repealled the bylaw.

And yes, other restaurants can apply under the old bylaw and make a bit of money before they close down. Based on comments I've heard from their owners, I don't expect any restaurants to open a patio under the new bylaw. It's simply too restrictive, too small and too expensive to be worth the cost. Whether they will apply for a two-three week licence under the old bylaw remains to be seen.

I argued that repealling the bylaw when a new one is only weeks away was premature, would appear punitive, and would certainly seal the impression that Collingwood is closed for business.* Why not just let the owner get some income from it while the weather allows it? Besides, i said, the new bylaw might not get passed and it would leave the downtown in limbo without any patio opportunities until it was (if it every was) sorted out.

So the motion got put aside for a few weeks, and Duncan's got a reprieve. Duncan's will have to pull it down to allow workers to finish the sidewalk construction, but it can go back up until the old bylaw is repealled.

There were other issues I alluded to in my last post about the patios. These include a serious case of angst and over-reaction among some councillors over the licence, as if a single patio presaged The End of Civilization As We Know It**

Although the licence was legal, issued under an existing bylaw, a few councillors were incensed that it was permitted - despite no legal or moral reason not to do so - and there was much pushmi-pullyu at a lengthy in camera meeting.

There were more letters in the most recent issue of The Enterprise Bulletin, written by residents asking why council persists in this patio-move folly. I can't answer, except to point out this council's single-minded unwillingness to accede to - let alone even hear - public opinion on many, many issues these past three years.

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* A commonly held belief both inside and outside the community. It's hard to refute, based on council killing the Admiral Collingwood project, a $50 million downtown development that would have spurred core business and economy, on the mayor's confrontational approach to dealing with Collingwood Ethanol, and similar episodes this term.
** You think perhaps the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world would begin when a Collingwood restaurant was allowed to open a patio that wasn't exiled to the curb side of the sidewalk? You'd certainly get that impression from the amount of hand-wringing and hair-pulling by a couple of our councillors. Folks, it's a simple patio. People are enjoying it. A small restaurant is making a few extra dollars. That's all. Take a deep breath and try to remain calm...