The mayor of Halifax says with the cost of everything going up, some restaurants may have to make the tough decision to not open the patio this year.
In an interview, with our newsroom, Andy Fillmore says he’s heard from establishments who are concerned about the application and permit fees, which can cost over $1,000.
He tabled a motion, Tuesday, for city staff to look into reducing or completely eliminating the costs associated with sidewalk patios, which passed unanimously.
“I’ve been very clear that affordability is one of the main issues that I’m working on,” says Fillmore. “Not just for residents. That includes businesses as well.”
Fillmore points to a 2024 study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which showed that the patio fees in Halifax are well above the national average and cost.
“Why do we need to be out front like that when we have a high cost of doing business to start with in Nova Scotia,” asks Fillmore
In addition, he says the economic benefit that restaurant patios bring in outweighs losing $70,000 of revenue the fees bring in.
“The restaurant owners have to pay the labour and parts to build the patios. They have to pay the labour to take them apart at the end of the season. They need to pay to store them over the course of the winter and they need to pay to put them back together again,” explains Fillmore.
“These patios might look simple, but they’re pretty complex and they’re pretty expensive.”
And if restaurants can’t afford it, he says, it means they won’t hire the extra staff needed to run it.
“That means they’re not going to activate that main street or part of our downtown with vibrancy and activity,” adds Fillmore. “Giving people a reason to go to the main street in the first place.”
City staff will now look into other jurisdictions to see what the possibilities are.
“Seventy thousand dollars in municipal revenue is not that big of an impact on a $1.4 billion budget but by eliminating those [fees] what economic opportunity do we unlock,” asks Fillmore.
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