Some St. John’s councillors had to be schooled on the city’s seasonal parklet – or patio – program this week.
The renewal of the plan came before council on Tuesday, generating a surprising number of questions and concerns.
That’s despite the program being in place for the past three years, and the application to renew coming from the city itself.
The so-called parklets are essentially outdoor patios for restaurants and lounges to expand business for the fall and summer months.
They can be placed on sidewalks, laneways and parking spaces downtown, along a section of Water Street west of Leslie Street, and in Churchill Square.
Following some lengthy back and forth, city planner Jason Sinyard offered to put the process into perspective.
“I think it may be important to state, especially for the new councilors, that this is a repeat of council’s previous practice. We put this on a three-year cycle after feedback from the businesses,” he said.
“So instead of doing an advertisement every year, we do one every three years, and they pay their discretionary use fee once every three years, instead of paying it every single year. So that was done in consultation with the previous council and with the business community.”
Businesses can start building their approved patios one week before they can open them, on Friday, May 22nd, leading into the Victoria Day long weekend.
They can operate from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. daily and stay in place until the end of October.
