The faint hum of club beats may be flowing through more of the city’s neighbourhoods this year.
In a bylaw update that came into effect on Jan. 1, the City of Toronto has expanded zoning and licensing laws for entertainment venues, bars, and restaurants, into neighbourhoods beyond the downtown core.
The update means that nightclubs can open city-wide in most commercial zones, as a way to reduce the cluster of nightclubs in the downtown area, such as King Street West, notorious for its long lines of party-goers spilling onto the club-ridden street.
“These changes clarify and modernize the rules while fostering business opportunities, contributing to vibrant communities and stimulating Toronto’s economy, including areas outside of the downtown core,” a spokesperson from the City of Toronto told Now Toronto.
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For Myles Isley, a Toronto producer and cultural curator, the high population of nightclubs in the downtown core has its upside.
“It works for me because I can bring myself to multiple venues in an area that I know my core audience spends their time in,” he said. “All that being said, I can see how there is positivity in expanding the nightclub industry…not everyone can get downtown, so this looks like a move towards accessibility.”
EXPANSION COULD SERVE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS
Isley, who curates live events in Toronto with the intention of fostering community through music, art, and culture, says it’s a challenge to go beyond the downtown core because young people don’t always like to travel far to be entertained.
As demographics shift within Toronto proper and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)—with 44 per cent of people living downtown reporting to consider leaving according to Angus Reid, the expansion of nightclub locations could serve the changing landscape.
“If you reside or spend most of your time in the downtown core, the ease of access makes sense, but if you don’t, if you live in the suburbs or outside, the ease of access is lessened,” Isley said. “Having things to do out there when the sun comes down brings more joy to people’s lives.”
MORE CLUBS, MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
For a business to be considered a nightclub, it has to meet three of the following guidelines: offer or advertise bottle service, refer to or advertises itself as a club, nightclub, disco, dance hall, dance club or similar venue, has a lighting system, sound system, or DJ, or has a stage or dance floor.
The bylaw update also means that bars and restaurants can increase space used for entertainment from six per cent to 25 per cent at their venues.
“For curators, promoters, and event planners who may live outside of the downtown core, this gives them an opportunity to service their communities…everyone needs leisure and entertainment, to be able to provide that is a good thing,” Isley said.
For Isley, a core issue remains in the nightclub space: closing time.
In Toronto, alcohol service is not permitted after 2 a.m in event spaces.
“To have the fourth largest city on the continent shut its clubs down at 2 a.m. makes no sense on any level. Clubs need to stay open longer. People will always want to and need to do something at night,” he said, adding that clubs should be open until at least 4 a.m. in Toronto.
NIGHTCLUB NOISE PREVENTION
In an attempt to keep sounds on the low, the bylaw also states that nightclubs in Toronto must be in non-residential buildings, must be the only nightclub in the building, and can only be on the first floor or basement.
A spokesperson from the city says that permitting nightclubs on upper levels of buildings may affect dwelling units in nearby buildings in terms of noise exposure.
However, as part of the new bylaw, the first storey requirement has been modified to permit a mezzanine in clubs to allow for some flexibility, as well as associated offices, storage rooms, and staff rooms, which can be located on another storey.
Ingrid Buday, an advocate for‘No More Noise Toronto, says she sees the updated regulation as a good thing, as the nightclub bylaw was outdated. However, she believes it’s premature to expand nightclubs into other parts of the city when the noise levels in the existing areas with nightclubs have not yet been managed.
“If you have a problem in one area of the city, there’s no sense in duplicating it in other areas. I have not heard of them doing anything different from a noise enforcement or reporting perspective,” she told Now Toronto.
Buday adds that there needs to be a better reporting and enforcement process when noise levels are high, and that there should be sound level monitoring on the streets so bylaw officers can track noise in real time.
“I am not against the club or restaurant businesses per se. I just believe that their activities and the sound that they make should be contained within the four walls that the business operates in,” Buday said, adding that other noises from nightclubs can be disruptive beyond just the music.
“It’s the yelling for rides, loud drunken conversation and people using their front yard and laneways as toilets after the establishment closes that get residents upset,” she said. “Better transit is also required so that people can leave the area quickly and quietly.”
No More Noise Toronto is currently working with the city on the updated regulations, along with other advocacy groups, and is starting a working group focused on amplified sound, to improve city noise and people’s sleep.
