With the Downtown Dining District set to close at the end of Monday, and streets opening back up to traffic Tuesday, Mayor Cam Guthrie is proposing a last-minute extension through Jan. 1.
He's called a special council meeting for Monday to address the plan.
“The dining district and the patio setting in the downtown has really created one of the best atmospheres that the downtown has ever seen,” Guthrie told GuelphToday, noting the extension would prevent possible layoffs and help those businesses survive in response to indoor capacity restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guthrie announced the special council meeting – the first time he’s called a special council meeting since being elected mayor in 2014 – via Twitter last night, within hours of learning city staff rejected an application from “Participants of the Downtown Dining District” (PDDD) for an extension.
The initial application for the district, which encompasses the area around the intersection of Macdonell and Wyndham streets, came from the Downtown Business Association (DBA).
“I respectfully disagree,” Guthrie said of the staff decision. “I had to react.”
That initial application followed a June city council decision that allowed businesses to apply to set up sidewalk or on-street patios and within the city’s right-of-way spaces as recommended by the Mayor’s Taskforce on Economic Recovery Due to COVID. The Downtown Dining District launched July 10 and was to remain in place until Sept. 7, but a two-week extension was later granted, bringing it to this coming Monday.
Yesterday, the PDDD released an open letter that stated up to 100 people would be laid off on Monday if the Downtown Dining District were to close as scheduled.
Guthrie believes an extension to Jan. 1 would help businesses make the most of three upcoming occasions – Halloween, a Christmas market and ringing in the new year.
DBA executive director Marty Williams said his organization doesn’t plan to address council regarding the mayor’s proposal.
The DBA released an opinion in August supporting either the continuation of the dining district as-is through the end of September or the use of street parking spaces as patio space, with the streets reopened to traffic. That stance hasn’t changed.
“There are people that believe their businesses are suffering because the roads are closed. Some people think it’s a waste to have it closed all the time when there isn’t demand for it to be closed all the time,” he said, calling the dining district “very successful” in the time it’s been running.
“We’re trying to balance the needs of some and the needs of others," Williams said.
Guthrie feels another extension is warranted because provincial regulations required dine-in restaurants to close for three months earlier this year, meaning they brought in zero revenue, while other businesses continued to run on a take-out basis.
“We need to support all businesses,” he said, stating feedback from residents since he announced the special council meeting has been “97 per cent in support” and three per cent want the streets re-opened, “I feel a 30-second detour is worth everyone’s time to save 100 jobs.”
The motion to be discussed Monday doesn’t just cover the Downtown Dining District, but the city as a whole. Any business can apply to the City of Guelph to establish a dining district using city right-of-way property.
Monday’s special council meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. To watch the live stream, visit www.guelph.ca/live. Anyone interested in addressing or providing an opinion to city council about the mayor’s proposal must register with the city clerk by 10 a.m. on Monday.