The Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce is hoping city council will extend a temporary policy around restaurant patios for another year.
Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to continue waiving fees for patios and allowing them to take up more parking spaces than would otherwise be permitted.
The policy was originally adopted in 2020 in response to COVID-19 restrictions that prevented or limited indoor dining, and was renewed for this year.
It allows restaurants and pubs to expand their patios into additional parking stalls with the co-operation of neighbouring businesses.
Chamber manager Tom Thomson says the sector is still suffering, so he hopes council will give its blessing to another year of the arrangement.
“We want to make sure it’s equitable and retail is also supportive. We did a roundtable discussion with retailers and some food and beverage folks and people from development services back at the end of September. That led us to believe that yes, there was a willingness to continue.”
However, city staff are recommending that temporary expansions only be permitted from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2022 and that application fees be charged. The chamber would like to see expansions allowed from April onward.
Thomson says they are not asking that the policy be made permanent, which would pose a number of challenges, although he feels they are not necessarily insurmountable.
