Opinion: City hall says they're addressing complaints of red tape impeding both patios and neighbourhood events — two things Vancouverites love.
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Vancouver’s mayor and city staff are pledging to work with community groups that complained this week that new city policies have hurt their ability to hold neighbourhood events.
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This comes as another beleaguered sector, restaurants, is also complaining about what they call unnecessary red tape in Vancouver’s new program for expanded patios.
On Thursday, Postmedia News reported that community groups were struggling with Vancouver’s new event rules. Organizers of the Kerrisdale Little League said city hall staff told them they could not hold a parade this year, as they had done for decades, because of changes to city’s deadlines and processes. Business associations also expressed concerns the city’s more onerous process would prevent community events this year.
Hours after that story was published, city hall emailed business improvement association leaders.
“The City of Vancouver recognizes how important special events are in the community and their contribution to recovery, community connection and resiliency, and BIA’s vital role within this space,” said the Thursday night email from Desiree Gatten, Vancouver’s acting manager of film and special events.
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Gatten’s email acknowledged the challenges of organizing events during the pandemic, and said she and her colleagues were “here to work with you” and were “exploring ways to ensure the permitting process is as flexible as possible to support the return of events while maintaining effective and safe event planning.”
BIA representatives said it was unusual to receive such an email from a city representative after 7:30 p.m., and they appreciated it.
“That’s awesome that she reached out, that they’re hearing our concerns,” Walley Wargolet, executive directors of the Gastown Business Improvement Society, said Friday. “They really do care, there’s no question about that. But we also need action to show that you care.”
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On Friday, Mayor Kennedy Stewart issued his own statement.
“I want them to know our staff are working to expedite applications,” Stewart said. “I have spoken with our city manager who assures me staff are aiming to shorten timelines for upcoming events where needed.”
“Our staff are working extremely hard to support community events and help businesses ramp up for the spring and summer months,” he said. “We all know how important it is for everyone in the city to get back to the places and events they love.”
Leonard Schein, co-founder of the Cambie Village Business Association, said his organization had found the permitting process “very frustrating” as they tried to plan a Easter event for kids. On Friday, Schein praised Stewart for issuing his statement, and said he hoped to see follow-through for those like the Kerrisdale Little League.
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“I think it’s great the mayor is listening to community groups, because that’s what makes up our city,” Schein said. “We all want a better city.”
For Wargolet and many of his neighbourhood’s businesses, the bigger worry right now is what they say is the amount of red tape in Vancouver’s new guidelines for operating patios.
The city’s temporary patio program was launched in 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, allowing bars, brew pubs and restaurants to expand. It intended to keep restaurants and bars in business by allowing patrons to dine and drink in an outdoor environment in compliance with health directives.
In September, Vancouver’s council voted to make it permanent. It seemed like a win.
But this week, when restaurant owners saw how the permanent program will work, they were not happy. The B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association and B.C. Craft Brewers Guild criticized it for “additional fees and red tape,” stating the “hurdles imposed create such significant delays that Vancouverites will be hard pressed to find an outdoor patio.”
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Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung expressed concern about the “red tape and fees” and said Friday she planned to speak with city staff explore the possibility of deferring their implementation for a year.
Lisa Parker, the city’s director of public space and street use said one big concerns was a misunderstanding. The guidelines call for “scaled architectural drawings,” which led some restaurant owners to believe they needed to hire a professional architect — time-consuming and expensive. Parker said Friday an architect is not needed, the drawings just need to be accurate and to scale. They can even be hand-drawn, she said.
Many restaurant owners have said a silver lining of COVID-19 was they felt city staff were genuinely on their side and working with the businesses to get the patio program going quickly.
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Parker said she doesn’t want to lose that.
“Hearing feedback right now around the extent and depth of concerns for this year’s patio program, I worry that we’re undoing a lot of the transparency and trust that we’ve built over the last two years,” Parker said. “If that was the benefit that came out of something as horrible as the pandemic — that collaborative, listening, transparent relationship between the city and the business industry and the community as a whole — that would be an incredible legacy.”
The hope is that COVID-19 will recede, but the “all-in-this-together” mentality will not.
Dan Fumano: City hall moves fast after red-tape complaints on events, patios - Vancouver Sun
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