It's welcome relief for many restaurant owners in the City of Toronto.
The City had asked the province for a Ministerial Zoning Order, which would help ease restrictions on outdoor patios, while allowing for expanded patios on private property, including parking areas. Today, they got the green light.
This is part of CafeTO, which expands sidewalk patios and flankages, and allows for curb lane patios.
The new zoning order means an increase to the maximum size of outdoor patios, and the removal of restrictions that could prevent an outdoor patio located in front of buildings.
This is going to help restaurant owners seat more people on their outdoor patios while following physical distancing requirements.
Nearly 800 businesses have registered for the program, and so far more than 550 applications have been verified. More than 125 curb lane closures and sidewalk patio expansions have been authorized.
So now, local restaurant operators that want to install a new patio or expand an existing one on private property don't need to register for CafeTO.