City officials are prepared to finalize rules that could allow new businesses and restaurants to open on residential streets across Toronto.
The move is intended to offer residents additional amenities closer to home while supporting local businesses, according to the city.
Amendments to residential zoning bylaws were presented to the planning and housing committee this spring before public and stakeholder consultations were held over the summer. The city’s proposed amendments have been revised based on the feedback from those consultations.
The public will have a final chance to offer their thoughts on the Neighbourhood Retail and Services Study this week before city council considers the recommendation on Dec. 17.
Many of the new revisions impact how restaurants, cafés and other eateries would operate within neighbourhoods — specifically how any food they sell gets prepared.
After determining an earlier definition of what constituted take-out food was unclear, the city revised its proposed rules to state: “A retail store may include an ancillary eating establishment or take-out eating establishment, provided that food is prepared off-site.”
Industrial cooking equipment like deep fryers and their accompanying ventilation systems would risk noise and odours on residential streets, per the city's analysis.
Requiring food to prepared elsewhere "will allow establishments to provide a variety of food options, without the equipment that would be required to prepare the food on-site," the final staff report on the study stated.
That means a future Bitondo's — the popular pizza joint on Dovercourt Road that operates under a grandfathered licence — won’t be in the offing. However, it can continue to operate because neighbourhood businesses that existed prior to the city-initiated proposal will not be required to abide by the new amendments.
As for beverages, there are no restrictions. Both hot and cold drinks can be made on-site in future cafes and restaurants, the city said.
That particular item made headlines over the summer when a shop owner in a west end neighbourhood nearly lost her takeout licence after she purchased an espresso machine.
The city’s latest proposal appears to clear the way for espresso making.
“With no restrictions on drinks, it would be clear that all types of drinks (hot and cold) are permitted. This approach, of preparing drinks on-site, but serving food prepared elsewhere, is also consistent with how many establishments operate today,” the report stated.
Responding to noise concerns, the city noted that neighbourhood patios are no longer proposed to be permitted in rear yards. However, they’re still allowed on corner lots, as well as on side or front yards that border a street. Entertainment such as music and dancing will not be permitted.
The size of a business' footprint will be capped at 1,600 square feet on more major residential streets and 1,100 square feet on more minor ones. Patios can be a maximum of 110 square feet.
Far more common in the mid-20th century, businesses nestled within neighbourhoods have been dwindling across the city. In June, the Toronto Star reported that 1,406 neighbourhood retail and service sites existed in 2019, compared to 2,100 in 1989.
Joe Aversa, an assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's Ted Rogers School of Retail Management, told TorontoToday allowing more businesses on residential streets could benefit neighbourhoods.
“There’s a bit of convenience for residents if there’s goods and services that are close to where they live,” he said. “It will encourage local spending. But having increased foot traffic could be a concern for some residents if they live in a quiet neighbourhood.”
Should the proposal pass council, it will be revisited in two years for potential adjustments.
