A downtown Ottawa bar and restaurant owner is fighting for permission to open a 42-seat patio despite opposition from area residents.
Brian Karam, owner of MacLaren's on Elgin, says having a patio would help attract customers who flock outdoors in hot summer months.
"Our business in the summer is half of what it is in the winter, so it creates a problem in terms of competitiveness," said Karam.
Although many patios on Elgin Street are on private property, Karam is pitching for his patio to be on city property just off Elgin on Maclaren Street, which would require a special permit. A bylaw currently states a patio cannot be within 30 metres of residential properties.
"This is a clear case of how the bylaw doesn't work. Someone who wants to create a better environment on the street with a patio is stymied. We need to fix that," Coun. Rainer Bloess told CTV Ottawa on Wednesday.
Residents fight back
However, residents aren't lining up to support a new patio off Elgin Street. They say the area is already noisy enough.
"The noise level on Friday and Saturday nights, I have two fans in my bedroom on all night to deaden the noise," said resident Russell O'Brien.
"This particular patio is 100 per cent on Maclaren Street, which is a residential area."
However, Karam owns a hotel above the restaurant, and says he has a vested interest in keeping noise to a minimum.
"We've agreed to close at 11 p.m. and we've agreed that there won't be any music, and if there has to be a noise barrier, we'd agree to that as well," he said.
The city's transportation committee will make a decision about the patio in November. City staff has also been asked to review the patio bylaw.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Natalie Pierosara
