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Bars or broccoli?

It’s never a bad thing that so many people want to have fun downtown. But how are we going to keep the balance so bars and restos don’t entirely edge out the small retailers struggling to survive amidst big boxes, chains and internet shopping?

Later this month, council will debate Councillor Gord Perks’s proposal to limit bars and restaurants to 25 per cent of all businesses on four blocks of Queen West in Parkdale.

If things go right, and we don’t know if they will, this could form a template for the whole city. Many other areas are vulnerable to bar creep, and even Eglinton and Sheppard will face this challenge when LRTs radically transform their streetscape in eight to 10 years.

What few realize is how the affluence of some is shaping local habits. Until the 1960s in Toronto, outside of large hotels there were very few decent eateries, and those were very expensive. There were bars, but most people didn’t have enough disposable income to eat out regularly or drink in upscale environments.

But now those with the means, and there are lots of them, are immersed in a pricey going-out culture, and the demand for such establishments is growing.

All this would be fine if it weren’t for the way the rental market works. There are no rules governing how much landlords can charge, and the sad truth is that cash flow from even low-performing bars and restaurants is greater than that generated by most grocery stores and other retail. Even specialty greengrocers have trouble paying high rents, and despite the popularity of boutique stores, many don’t last a year.

Dining and drinking spots are the most likely to fill vacant stores, and they tend to do better when clustered together. Concentration is good business practice, but it leaves residents with few amenities and puts pressure on small retailers.

In one way, the Perks solution won’t be a true test it would restrict restaurants along with drinking establishments, which probably wasn’t the intent. Because the city doesn’t control liquor licences and is limited by legislation in other licensing matters such as business licensing, it can’t differentiate between those two kinds of outlets.

Count this as another example of the cost of Toronto’s deficit of powers. The administration of liquor licences should really be transferred to the city and, along with that, the province should allow the city more more powers on business licensing. The goal here is the development of more nuanced bylaws. In all my years on council, I saw hundreds of licence applications, and the province approved all of them, even when there was a community outcry.

If the city were allowed to regulate this trade, it could expand on some of the experiments of the past. For example, in 2007, local residents in West Queen West negotiated a series of conditions for several new bar and restaurant applications. The venue owners, who wanted local support and to be good community citizens, cooperated with the process.

Some of the restrictions added to the licences included rules on outside amplified sound, restricted patio hours and a requirement that the establishment control patrons conversing outside the bar. This sort of mediation process should be mandatory when conflict arises.

But rules are only as good as enforcement, and regulation of current rules is split between three entities. The provincial Alcohol and Gaming Commission issues licences but places few restrictions on them, and only engages in limited enforcement blitzes. Toronto Municipal Licensing and Standards bylaw officers rarely work evenings, which is when the bulk of complaints are received. Then there are the police, who are simply too busy to deal with any but the most serious problems.

One area where Toronto could improve on managing resident concerns is in noise control. With the current noise bylaw, the city uses written logs that requires the date and type of noise to be recorded over time, perhaps leading to charges. But New York City has a better system – a clear noise bylaw that sets limits on decibel levels, and police and bylaw officers equipped with machines to measure them 24 hours a day.

The NYC bylaw restricts noise levels from 10 pm to 7 am to 7 decibels over the background, or below 42 decibels emanating from any particular building. Venues where music is played can’t have disturbing noise that seeps into the street or is heard in nearby residences. The bylaw even has a section on bass sounds, the most problematic.

But creating neighbourhoods with diverse commercial options will take more than controlling the boisterousness of bars. We’ll have to boost small retail businesses by reducing the extremely high commercial tax burden. Since mayor David Miller’s time, commercial taxes have been slowly lowered to be more competitive with the 905. But more needs to be done: the city should have the power to split the commercial tax into two classes for large and small businesses to help invigorate local shopping without giving a break to big business.

Perhaps outlets under 2,500 square feet (or a maximum of 10,000 in four locations to prevent chains from taking advantage) could pay less.

Yes, the proposed new bylaw in Parkdale could be an effective tool. Only time will tell. But maximizing diversity in the midst of chage and protecting neighbourhoods require a big mandate, and the city needs to move on many fronts.

news@nowtoronto.com | @adam_giambrone

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