Costly consequences for Vancouver restaurants due to new patio permits: industry rep

The City of Vancouver’s new rules on public patio guidelines is going to cost the restaurant sector too much according to industry experts.

Over the pandemic, the city loosened its rules to allow bespoke sidewalk and roadside patios. And last fall the City decided to make that permanent.

However, the requirements for architectural drawings, square footage charges, and more, will jack up the price, they say, and it may be tough for many restaurants to make it work.

“For the last two summers in the city of Vancouver, if you wanted to patio, you could get a patio — it was that simple,” Ian Tostensen, president of BC Restaurant and Food Services Association told CityNews.

“That allowed restaurants to open sooner when they were closed on a couple of occasions. But this year, what’s happened is the City of Vancouver have come up with a very complicated process … that would require a lot of red tape, hoops to be jumped through, in order to get to a patio.”

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Tostensen says, to add a six-square meter outdoor seating space, it will now cost restaurants up to $5,000.

Previously, the Temporary Expedited Patio Program (TEPP) which was in place for 2020 and 2021, allowed for patio permits to be acquired for free.

Vancouver City Councillor, Sarah Kirby-Yung tells CityNews, she thinks the city should continue with the Temporary Expedited Patio Program (TEPP) at least for this year.

“Restaurants are still in the middle of recovery, and we’re going to need time to adapt,” she said. “So, my hope would be that we could look at implementing regulations with a lot of lead time and some better engagement for 2023. But continue with the temporary patio program for this year. I think it makes the most sense.”

Getting report back my motion for ‘Making Pop-Up Patios A Part of Every Summer in Vancouver’ to retain vibrant #patio culture we created during pandemic that saved restaurants & let people be out safely. Program to be permanent part of our city life with > focus accessibility. pic.twitter.com/FOxfvQ8UeM

— Sarah Kirby-Yung 楊瑞蘭 (@sarahkirby_yung) September 22, 2021

Kirby-Yung adds, she thinks it will be the smaller restaurants which will be hit the hardest as the TEPP kept them afloat through the last two years.

“I really believe that a lot of our restaurants in Vancouver, those smaller ones, would have closed their doors if we didn’t have that program.”

One local restaurant owner says he was completely taken back by the abrupt changes.

“The amount of hurdles we have to jump through, just to get two more tables in front of my restaurant is ridiculous,” Brendon Chan, owner of The Basic said to City News. “It’s like someone who doesn’t have a lot any experience in this type of industry is making rules for it.”

Chan adds in talking with his business partner, he foresees his business losing money from these new guidelines.

The City of Vancouver admitted in a statement it’s heard growing concerns and frustrations from the industry around fees, design standards and the approach.

The City adds, “Staff are committed to continuing to work with industry and businesses through this process in the same spirit as the last two years of the program: to listen, collaborate and find solutions.”

– With files from Ashley Burr