Vancouver City Council considers waiving patio fees this summer on Water Street

With warmer weather coming our way, we can always expect patio season to start in Vancouver.

Vancouver City Council is set to vote Tuesday on whether it should waive fees for small sidewalk patios and merchandise display units on Water Street in Gastown.

The city will pilot a pedestrian-only project on the street this summer from late June to August 31. During this time, parts of Water Street will be closed to cars to allow for public seating.

The fee waiver is proposed for June 1 to September 30 to provide “flexibility for staff to adjust permit dates to support business participation.”

In a staff report, the city outlines that the purpose of waiving fees is to reduce the financial barriers for small businesses to participate.

“To encourage them to contribute to a lively pedestrian-first street,” it says.

The report says by providing small merchandise displays and “movable seating” for the public, local businesses can encourage people to spend more time in the area.

“To activate the public realm, and provide additional opportunities for people to linger and gather during the Water Street Pilot,” it said.

The city says it’s all the more important to waive permit fees because local businesses have expressed some concern regarding additional costs they have to incur to get patio tables, chairs, and displays. Businesses have also said that the timeframe of the pilot project is short, the investment is large, and pedestrian-first streets usually bring more profit to larger restaurants.

“The aim of waiving these permit fees is to encourage participation in the pilot by retail and café businesses,” the city said. “reducing businesses’ initial financial investment to sign on, and removing the pressure to ‘make back’ a permit fee.”

The City Council says it thinks encouraging more participation by small businesses allows the pilot project to provide more learning in the long run.

Currently, two businesses have small patios in the pilot area, and there are no merchandise displays, so the city says the cost it will incur is minimal.

-With files from Cole Schisler.