Item - 2021.EX20.6

City Council on February 2, 3 and 5, 2021, adopted the following:

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to establish a program to allow for the review, approval and installation of sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets without applicants having to comply with certain requirements of Municipal Code Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays, during the following terms:

a. a café installed on a sidewalk (being a curbside café or frontage café) from no earlier than April 15, 2021 to no later than April 14, 2022, inclusive; and/or

b. a curb lane/parklet café or public parklet from no earlier than May 8, 2021 to no later than November 10, 2021, inclusive.

2. In establishing a program under Part 1 above, City Council direct that the General Manager, Transportation Services shall consider:

a. which requirements from Municipal Code Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays should apply to the sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets under the program;

b. appropriate guidelines for the General Manager, Transportation Services to review and approve the sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets under the program;

c. appropriate indemnification and insurance requirements to protect the City provided that any insurance requirement for the program requires at least $1,000,000 in general liability coverage;

d. advice from the Medical Officer of Health to ensure the health and safety of all persons using the sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets under the program; and

e. requirements for the location, materials, usage, maintenance and removal of the sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets under the program to ensure the health and safety of all users of City highways, including:

i. that a café or parklet on a local road be closed and cleared of customers by 11:00 p.m. unless hours of operation have been imposed previously by a Community Council for an existing café or parklet area, in which case both the existing and the extended café or parklet area be operated in accordance with the Community Council-imposed hours;

ii. where conditions other than hours of operation have been imposed previously by Community Council for an existing café or parklet area, that both the existing and the extended café or parklet area must be operated in accordance with the Community Council-imposed conditions; and

iii. where conditions have been imposed by Community Council on sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets in similar circumstances, that those Community Council-imposed conditions should apply.

3. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to approve applications to install and maintain sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets where the application complies with the program adopted by the General Manager, Transportation Services, under Part 1 above, and where the approval conflicts with Municipal Code Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays, the approval of the General Manager, Transportation Services shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.

4. City Council waive fees required under Municipal Code Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays, Municipal Code Chapter 743, Streets and Sidewalks, Use of, and Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, for any sidewalk, curb lane/parklet café or public parklet approved by the General Manager, Transportation Services, under the program described in Part 1 above.

5. City Council amend Municipal Code Chapter 937, Temporary Closing of Highways, to delegate to the General Manager, Transportation Services, until November 10, 2021 the authority to temporarily close to vehicular traffic the curb lanes or any portion thereof on any highway (with the exception of those highways listed in section 937-4) for a period up to and including 187 consecutive days from May 8, 2021 to November 10, 2021, inclusive, for the purpose of permitting a curb lane/parklet café or public parklet approved by the General Manager, Transportation Services, under the program described in Part 1 above, and to exempt the General Manager, Transportation Services in carrying out this delegation from Section 937-5 of Chapter 937.

6. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services, when approving a sidewalk café, curb lane/parklet café or public parklet under the CaféTO program, to confirm that the City of Toronto does not object to the temporary physical extension of liquor sales under section 97 of regulation 719 under the Liquor Licence Act for that approved area and to withdraw this confirmation if the operator of a sidewalk café, curb lane/parklet café or public parklet, in the opinion of the General Manager, Transportation Services, subsequently fails to comply with the CaféTO program, applicable City By-laws or policies, or municipal or provincial orders.

7. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to review and approve variations to the CaféTO program and guidelines, in consultation with the local Councillor, and in consideration of past complaints reported at the address and conditions imposed by Community Council in similar local circumstances.

8. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the Acting General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to report back to the Executive Committee by the fourth quarter of 2021 on the feasibility of continuing the CaféTO program in 2022 and beyond, including budget, staffing requirements, a proposed financial model, the results of a traffic and economic impact analysis and any necessary modifications to Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays.

9. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report to the Planning and Housing Committee by no later than April 22, 2021 on whether to extend the expiration of City-wide Temporary Use Zoning By-laws that ease restrictions on outdoor patios on private property.

10. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the necessary Bills to give effect to City Council's decision and City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make any necessary clarifications, refinements, minor modifications, technical amendments, or By-law amendments as may be identified by the City Solicitor to give effect to the reasonable operation of the sidewalk cafés, curb lane/parklet cafés or public parklets under the program as described in the report (January 13, 2021) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

11. City Council authorize the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, to extend the CafeTO program (including the authority with respect to liquor sales, and the waiving of any applicable fees under Municipal Code Chapter 608, Parks) to allow for the review, approval, installation and maintenance of food and beverage patios operated by established restaurants and cafés immediately adjacent to, or located in, park spaces with hard surfacing from April 15, 2021 to April 14, 2022, inclusive, where the application complies with the program adopted by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and where the approval conflicts with any provision of Municipal Code Chapter 608, Parks, the approval of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.

12.  City Council confirm that it does not object to the temporary physical extension of liquor sales under section 97 of regulation 719 under the Liquor Licence Act for an outdoor patio located on private property that is permitted under applicable Zoning By-law(s) in the City of Toronto, including any Temporary Use Zoning By-law adopted by City Council.

13.  City Council authorize the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to withdraw the non-objection under Part 12 above, if the operator of an outdoor patio, in the opinion of the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, subsequently fails to comply with applicable Zoning By-law(s), including any Temporary Use Zoning By-law adopted by City Council, applicable City By-laws or policies, or municipal or provincial orders.

14.  City Council amend sections 742-14.3D, 742-14.5A and 742-14.5B of Municipal Code Chapter 742, Sidewalk Cafés, Parklets and Marketing Displays, so that the word "person" is also used wherever the phrase "permit holder" is used, and replace the phrase "in a permit area" with "on a street" in section 742.14.5A.

15. City Council request the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to work with partner divisions and external partners, as an enhancement to the CafeTO initiative, to explore supporting innovations to enhance safe outdoor dining and other entertainment activities to extend the operation of such businesses into colder months over fall/winter 2021, with any approaches considered to be in full accordance with relevant public health regulations and in compliance with municipal regulations governing such activity, while also addressing accessibility needs. 

16. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to explore opportunities to support outdoor retail opportunities through the CaféTO program either by using CaféTO spaces at times where restaurants and bars are not open, or using additional areas of the public right-of-way for retail.

17.  City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the General Manager, Municipal Licensing and Standards, and accessibility stakeholders, to develop accessibility guidelines and workshops, on the CurbTO and CaféTO programs, and to report back on these initiatives to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee by the end of the second quarter of 2021 or prior to implementation, such guidelines to include:

a. uniform standards on the use of asphalt ramps;

b. inspection and enforcement schedule; and

c. standards of design of curb lane patios.

18.  City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and cycling and road safety stakeholders, to develop and implement cycling guidelines, on the CurbTO and CaféTO programs, and to report back on these initiatives as part of the end of year review of CafeTO, such guidelines to consider:

a.  standard design for temporary protected cycling lanes next to curb lane patios;

b.  standards for bicycle parking adjacent to curb lane patios; and

c.  inspection and enforcement schedule.

19. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to prepare a "who does what" guide and contact document for the purposes of dealing with the City of Toronto in connection with the CafeTO and CurbTO programs in as efficient and user friendly a manner as possible.

20.  City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to support Business Improvement Areas and individual businesses by improving the CaféTO Program with respect to materiality and design, along with safety and to report to the April 29, 2021 meeting of the Executive Committee on options to enhance public realm for curbside patios.

21. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to explore a modest acceleration to the timetable for CafeTO installations such that as many such installations who complete the application process in a timely manner can have their installations available for use over the full 2021 Victoria Day Weekend. 

22. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to work with City Councillors from Scarborough to develop a component of CafeTO and CurbTO which will ensure a more expansive participation in the area for both programs.

23.  City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to report back to the Executive Committee with a strategy to improve the success of the CaféTO and CurbTO programs in suburban areas of the City where the uptake is low.

24. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to consult with the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission to resolve issues that arose from the CaféTO program implementation in 2020 specifically with regard to night bus services on Danforth Avenue and potential conflicts with curb-lane patios.