Want to build an on-street patio for your business? Lacombe now has a Patio Policy for that – LacombeOnline.com

The City of Lacombe has introduced a new Patio Policy aimed at making the process of building a new on-street patio easier for the businesses who apply, as well as the city staff who process the applications.

The new policy, introduced at the August 10th council meeting, lays out a streamlined process whenever someone wants to expand their seating to the great outdoors, something that's become more and more common in the pandemic era.

Director of Operations and Planning for the City Jordan Thompson said this policy has been in the works since before the pandemic as the desire for an expanded space increase, particularly for places that serve food and drinks.

We have an attractive downtown and the patios allow residents, visitors, tourists to take advantage of that scenery when they are eating. We wanted to ensure were supporting that through a fair approval process.

Thompson says the pandemic has certainly forced us to change how we think about a lot of things, and the City wanted to make it easier for businesses to adapt to these new changes.

We are seeing businesses inquire about innovative ways to use the space that they have. Innovative ways to use the outdoor space that may be available that previously was perhaps used for storage, or for kind of back-of-house type of uses that they want to clean-up and repurpose for more business purpose, and so we are exploring those applicants and ensuring that we can support those businesses the best we can through our Land Use Bylaw.

A number of on-street and private property patios have sprung up in Lacombe this summer, including at Tollers Bistro, Leto's Steakhouse and Bar, and an alley patio located behind Ugly's Pub and Grill. Cilantro and Chive have had their patio open for over a year now, and Boston Pizza has had outdoor patio seating since they first opened their doors.

As the current global pandemic is making people re-think the way they do business, restaurant's in Alberta are doing what they can to get as many people as possible safely through their doors.

It...

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Want to build an on-street patio for your business? Lacombe now has a Patio Policy for that - LacombeOnline.com