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Under the current rules, the city refuses an application for so-called “flankage” patios if it receives “multiple” objections from neighbours. That means just two people can block the application.

The local community council can overrule the refusal, but Bradford said that the process causes delays and costs restaurant and cafe owners valuable time during ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½’s short summer. He wants to raise the standard for refusal to 25 per cent of affected residents registering objections.

“For many small businesses like this one right here, patio season makes a difference between surviving the winters and having to close up their doors for good,” said Bradford.Ìý

He said local government needs to “cut red tape so that business owners can spend more time serving their customers and communities and less time fighting with city hall.”Ìý

Bradford’s motion would apply only to sidewalk patios on local streets, not those on busy main streets or in curb lanes under the CaféTO program, which fall under different rules. According to the city, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ has more than 100 flankage patios.

As it stands, the regulations require that when businesses apply for a cafe on a local road they have to post a public notice, and the city must notify residents and property owners within a 30-metre radius. More than one objection received within the 21-day notice period is grounds for refusal. The applicant can then appeal the refusal to community council, which can uphold or overturn the refusal, or add conditions to the permit.

Council suspended the provisions about neighbours’ objections in 2021 to help businesses weather the pandemic, but reimposed them in 2023 despite city staff determining

In Tiarré’s case, Bradford said patios have operated at the property abutting Waverly Road for decades, but the location’s new owner, Anotha Thamesh, still encountered problems when she submitted her application for the 60-capacity space in April. Although the bistro closes at 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. on weekends, when the city issued notices to 47 neighbours, two people objected, and the municipality notified her in June it had refused the permit. After an appeal,ÌýÌýthis month.

Under Bradford’s proposal, 12 of the 47 residents would have had to object to trigger a refusal.Ìý

Thamesh summed up the experience in one word: “frustrating.” She said that in general city rules are hard to follow. “The process kind of changes every other week in my opinion.”

Bradford’s proposal will require the vote of two-thirds of members to be added to next week’s council agenda, after which it could pass with a simple majority. It’s not clear whether it will get that support.

A spokesperson for Mayor Olivia Chow said her office would review Bradford’s motion. ”We support cutting red tape and making it easy for businesses to operate in our neighbourhoods,” said Shirven Rezvany in an email, adding that Chow had already made changes to the CaféTO program, which ”now runs much more smoothly and provides more certainty for businesses.”

Coun. Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½-Danforth)Ìý. She said Thursday that while she is open to reviewing any changes that would help local businesses, the current system usually doesn’t result in owners being permanently denied a permit, and the appeal process gives community councils the ability to impose conditions around things like opening hours and music to protect neighbours from negative impacts.

“I’m always there for restaurants,” said Fletcher. “But I do always want to make sure that residents who are living in these very tight streets, cheek-to-jowl with flankage patios, can make sure it’s not disrupting their entire existence.”

Thursday’s announcement was another campaign-style event from Bradford, who finished eighth behind Chow in the 2023 byelection and is widely expected to run against her again next October.Ìý