PRINCE GEORGE – Prince George residents can expect to see patios grace the downtown this summer.
Council got an update Administration on the regulations around patios on sidewalks and streets.
But, there were still some questions around the red tape and the costs of acquiring the requisite licences.
Councillor Cori Ramsay was the one who cited the costs attached to licensing, referring to a letter in the correspondence from the owner on Nancy O’s.
In that letter, Eoin Foley noted:
“For this year, I started the process last September. Got an engineered drawing, paid my $440 to the province and submitted my liquor license change. They said they would send it off to the local government for approval and get back to me. 5 months later I hadn’t heard anything, so I followed up. The guy there says it is with The City. I call the City, they have not received anything from the Province. Call the Province back, the guy there thinks they’ve lost it, tells me, maybe I should apply again, and my new application would be looked at in the order they receive them.
Now at this point I must admit I should have also applied separately with the city back in September. As an experienced person I was not aware I should have done this on my own after the Province said they would contact the City and get back to me.
At this point, I now need to submit 2 applications to the city, pay $1600, a bit of back and forth with the planning department, and another $300 to put up a massive development sign in my window for 2 weeks.
Up next I will expect this matter to go before Council for Approval. This part is because the added floor space increases our capacity on our liquor licence. I don’t really need the extra capacity but that’s just how this process goes. I will also expect them to be told I am going to owe the City about $4200 for the use of the 4 parking spots the patio occupies. This will bring the costs up above $6500 before the patio is even built.”
Some Councillors also suggested there be some form of way or expedite those recurring applications.
Also, Council also learned the provincial government has extended the Temporary Expanded Service Area, or TESA, which would allow for expanded liquor licensing for patios until March 31st.
