City councillors have approved an outdoor patio for MacLaren’s pub on Elgin Street despite previously rejecting the application because of the bar's proximity to residential areas and over the objections of local residents and Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes.
Council voted 16 to 6 to accept a recommendation of city staff and its transportation committee that MacLaren’s pub be granted permission to build a 30m by 22.4m patio along the MacLaren Street inner boulevard, between the building and the sidewalk.
However, approval came with two provisions: that the patio would close at 11 p.m. and that there would be no loud noise.
As the pub is within 30m of residential properties, the application was refused when Brian Karam, owner of MacLaren’s pub, first made his application in 2006 because of its violation of the encroachment bylaw.
But Monday, councillors approved MacLaren’s application by supporting a waiver of the bylaw which has previously prevented the patio from being built.
Early this September, MacLaren’s unsuccessful 2006 application was taken to the transportation committee for review by River Ward Coun. Marie MacRae.
Prior to the September meeting, Holmes circulated notices about the proposal to residents near the pub, the majority of whom responded negatively. Consideration of the application was postponed to November and a review of the bylaw was requested.
At the Nov. 17 committee meeting – when councillors voted 5 to 1 in support of bringing MacLaren’s patio application to council – MacLaren Street resident Matt McGrath confirmed that many residents near the pub remain opposed to the patio proposal.
“We know that there are many people who are opposed to it,” he said. “It is a quiet residential area, an area that is only for residents.”
McGrath added that building an outdoor patio at MacLaren’s sports pub would be unfair to nearby property owners.
“People who have moved in there have paid big money to have that location,” he said. “It would be very disturbing to the people because it’s pretty well known that people from sports bars and places are cheering and cheering loudly.”
However, Karam said that his patio would not disturb nearby residents. As Karam owns a hotel above MacLaren’s, he said he has a personal interest in ensuring that any noise from the patio is kept to a minimum.
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Karam also said that MacLaren’s has not had one music-related noise complaint in fifteen years, despite the pub’s windows and doors being wide open during the summer.
“Our windows do open and we still haven’t had any noise complaints,” he says, “I can’t see that there’d be any change from the current situation and what would be happening on the patio.”
Although Holmes acknowledged Karam as a responsible owner who will attempt to keep noise down, she said a waiver of the bylaw for a patio to be built within 30m of residential buildings would completely disregard concerns of the public.
“It’s pretty clear there is no longer any consideration given to public comment,” Holmes said.
Coun. Jacques Legendre agreed that waiving the bylaw in order to approve a previously denied application could be problematic.
“It’s the same property, same application,” he said.
He cautioned that waiving the bylaw now, when it was not waived in 2006 could be problematic for future applications.
A review of the process of patio applications and the encroachment bylaw is currently underway. Results should be completed by early next year.