Nearly 12 years after he built his patio on Preston Street, Pub Italia owner Joe Cotroneo can breathe a sigh of relief after city council agreed to leave his outdoor seating area alone for at least the upcoming patio season.
At the city council meeting on Feb. 22, the decision to grandfather Pub Italia’s seasonal patio into the existing encroachment bylaw was finally passed, leaving Cotroneo to wonder why this was an issue in the first place.
According to the bylaw, Cotroneo’s patio needed to leave approximately 2.4 metres of clear sidewalk between the edge of the patio and the road to leave enough room for sidewalk sweepers, wheelchairs, and electric scooters. As the patio stands now, a line of trees cuts that free sidewalk space in half, with only 1.22 metres of clear space on either side.
The trees, however, were put in six to seven years after Cotroneo was told by the city that his patio wouldn’t be a problem. According to Cotroneo, the trees were put in the wrong spot.
“I went and I got the original drawings from the city,” says Cotroneo. “I looked at the drawings and measured everything out, and the trees that were installed in front of my place were not where they showed on the drawings. In other words, according to my calculations, the trees should have been 17 inches (40 centimetres) closer to the street.”
Having the trees 40 centimetres closer to the street, says Cotroneo, would make up most of the 58 centimetre difference in space that the encroachment bylaw mandates.
The issue over whether or not Cotroneo’s patio should stay as it has been for over a decade has brought on numerous transportation committee and city council meetings since it was first brought to the attention of Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes, was instrumental in eventually bringing the issue to the transportation committee.
The Ottawa public works department and the Ottawa planning and growth management department did not support the motion to grandfather Cotroneo’s patio into the bylaw.
Both were worried that if the patio is not scaled back, maintenance equipment such as sidewalk sweepers might not be able to do their job in front of the pub.
Cotroneo says he takes care of most of the maintenance in front of his patio and that during the 12 years he’s worked at that location he’s never seen a sidewalk sweeper.
Marianne Wilkinson, the chair of the transportation committee, says that over the next patio season the city will be paying close attention to any problems that arise from the decision. As well, the city will address the problem with the trees and will most likely move them 40 centimetres closer to the road.