Port Coquitlam wants patios in public places to stay.
On Tuesday, July 9, the city’s committee of council will look at a plan to formalize a Public Space Patio Program next year.
The move comes in response to the end of the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch’s Temporary Expanded Service Area program on Dec. 31, 2024.
That provincial program, which started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet demand for more outdoor spaces, has been extended three times over the past four years.
Bruce Irvine, Port Coquitlam’s director of development services, said the city’s proposed Public Space Patio Program is designed to be easy for the owners of restaurants, cafés, pubs and other food and liquor establishments to apply, to be able to set up tables and chairs on sidewalks, lanes and road curbs at the front (businesses must allow a clear walking/cycling area of 1.8 metres).
In his report, Irvine laid out the process: Eateries with direct access to public right-of-ways would submit a Public Space Patio Application, to be reviewed by the city’s business licence division; if approved, the licence would automatically renew in January at the same time as the establishment’s business licence.
The fee for a patio would be $25 per seat per year, starting in 2025.
Patios can be seasonal or be open year-round, as long as they close by 10 p.m.
If council OK’s the program this fall, business owners could apply online for a permanent patio.
Irvine said the Public Space Patio Program would be a public and commercial benefit by meeting the community demand for more outdoor areas and revitalizing business districts — key themes in the Official Community Plan and Downtown Action Plan, as well as in recent consultation to update the city’s Master Transportation Plan.
“Staff have drafted a Public Space Patio Program intended to balance the need to ensure patios are constructed and operated in a safe manner, do not negatively impact surrounding uses and meet municipal and provincial requirements with a simple, streamlined and cost-effective process that supports the creation of new outdoor seating areas,” Irvine wrote in his report.
“The proposed program is similar to other municipalities and provides for an expedited review process with a nominal fee structure intended to encourage and support the creation of patio spaces.”
