Notwithstanding waiving of Section 8.1, all requirements of the Sidewalk Cafe Handbook remain in place.
It should be noted that the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has provided a letter to the CAO with their recommendations related to potential changes to the provision and consumption of alcohol on municipally owned premises (copy of letter attached as Appendix B). The Health Unit points out that,
“Under the SFOA, 2017, the smoking of tobacco or cannabis and vaping of any substance is prohibited on and within nine (9) metres of a patio where food and drink is served”. Administration agrees that the provincial legislation under the Smoke Free Ontario Act (SFOA) applies to extended patios and patios set up on temporary road closures, and is still in effect.
The Health Unit also has identified a number of Recommendations as it relates to the City’s consideration of expanded licensed patios and alcohol service on municipal property. Some of these recommendations relate to possible licensed areas in parks, which are not under consideration at this time, with the exception of the pilot project at Lanspeary Park which already has permanent fencing at the event site. The recommendations that relate to compliance with existing legislation (e.g. Sandy’s law signage requirements) will be required to be adhered to by the establishments with the current proposals. In their letter, the Health Unit recommends that the requirements related to barriers such as fencing in the Municipal Alcohol Policy be maintained. In keeping with the changes in legislation through the AGCO, Administration supports waiving this requirement within the policies for the 2020 season to allow for other methods for designating the licensed areas where appropriate. However, this waiver does not apply to proposed extensions of patios into the roadway, which is the subject of Council Report 130/2020 regarding Parklets and Curbside Cafe Pilot Projects.
Risk Analysis:
Risks associated with the proposals from the BIA’s and small businesses have been vetted through SERT. Litigation risks are standard with any special event and pose a significant risk, but they will be managed by transferring risk to the Event Host by requiring the Event Host to provide proof of insurance and agree to indemnify the City. Likewise, there is risk inherent with sidewalk cafes because City property is being occupied by a third party. Insurance and all other conditions must be satisfied for each event or cafe will continue to be handled in accordance with the Special Events Agreements Procedure, or the Sidewalk Cafe application process. There are additional risks to removing the railing requirement, as set out in the Health Unit’s letter attached at Appendix B. The City has experience with the modification of railing requirements during road closures, as this has been permitted and approved by the AGCO in the past without incident. In addition to the insurance and indemnification requirements, the risk of removing railings is mitigated by ensuring that the occupied space, whether within a road closure or on a sidewalk cafe, is well defined. Given the social distancing requirements in place, this assists with crowd control and management, thereby further mitigating the risk posed by removing railings. The recommendation does not apply to