PEC SIDEWALK PATIOS BY-LAW
Sidewalk patios in Prince Edward County will operate in much the same manner in 2020 as they did in 2021.
Council passed the by-law at Committee of the Whole on Thursday.
The Sidewalk Patio program was altered last year to assist businesses during the pandemic and with the situation surrounding COVID-19 looking much the same for this summer, council has decided to keep the plan virtually the same.
Application and program fees for participating businesses will be waived again this summer and the patio season will run through November 30.
The by-law will expire after this year and will be reevaluated for 2022.
It will be up for final approval at council’s meeting on February 23.
A littering by-law was sent back to staff for further review and will be discussed again by Committee of the Whole on February 25.
Councillors had some questions about enforcement with some wondering about the possibility of adding cameras in some areas to catch people dumping garbage.
There will be public consultation on a new noise by-law.
Committee of the Whole passed a motion Thursday directing staff to consult with the public and businesses on the proposed by-law.
Staff used the City of Belleville by-law as a template.
Most of council seemed to agree with the proposal but said they would wait to make any final opinions based on public consultation.
One component some felt will cause concern from the public is the call to not allow the operation of power equipment used for lawn, garden, building or property maintenance to begin until 9 a.m. on Sundays.
It would be 8 a.m. every other day.
Many councillors felt Sunday should be no different than the rest of the week.
Public consultation methods are yet to be determined but staff are to report back to council by May.
