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Vernon  

Vernon council approves expansion of patio space for restaurants

Parking lot patios OK'd

Vernon city council unanimously agreed to allow downtown businesses to expand their patio area into city street parking spaces in an effort to adhere to social distancing orders and potentially increase revenue.

The motion will come into effect on June 1 and will carry through until the end of September. Businesses will not need a permit or have to pay a fee to do so as long as they enter into a use agreement and abide by the conditions.

Patio seats will not extend into the parking spaces themselves – the parking spaces will be used as a thoroughfare for pedestrians to walk around the business' setup that will be taking place on the sidewalk. Businesses will only be allowed to use one parking space that is adjacent to their storefront to allow for some parking to still occur in the downtown core.

In the original motion, businesses with off-street parking lots would have been allowed to expand their commercial use by sectioning off up to 25 per cent of their parking lot, but thanks to a friendly amendment from Coun. Akbal Mund, that number was bumped up to 50 per cent after council agreed.

Council also agreed to refund collected fees for the 2020 Sidewalk and Boulevard Area permits totalling less than $3,500, which will be taken from the Business License Account.

City staff will also consult with the Downtown Vernon Association on the potential closure to through traffic on all or some blocks of 30th Avenue between 29th Street and 35th Street, and will report the conclusions of that meeting back to council in June.



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