The City of Toronto is reviewing the licensing and zoning regulations for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues – including nightclubs and live music venues – and exploring strategies to support and enhance Toronto’s Night Economy.
As part of this review, the City intends to:
To inform the review, the City is seeking feedback through targeted industry engagement, public consultations and a survey to:
We’re looking for feedback from various stakeholders including community members, industry professionals, business owners and operators and the staff that work within these industries.
Your insights and experiences will inform strategies for enhancing Toronto’s night economy, as well as zoning and licensing recommendations and proposed bylaw amendments for Committee and Council consideration in fall 2023.
A survey will be launched soon to provide residents across the City an opportunity to provide their thoughts and comments on the review
The City will also be hosting public consultation sessions to provide additional opportunities for people to share their ideas
Please check back for updates. Survey launch and session dates will be posted soon.
In 2018, the City began reviewing the licensing and zoning regulations for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues in response to directives from City Council, and recommendations from the Auditor General.
This work included background research, data analysis, a review of regulations in different cities, and preliminary stakeholder consultations. However, this review was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recognizing that the pandemic has negatively impacted the restaurant, bar and entertainment industries, the City has prioritized the review of relevant zoning and licensing regulations, to ensure that they are consistent, and reflective of emerging business models in the dining and entertainment sectors.
In December 2021, a staff report was presented to Executive Committee that introduced a framework to update licensing and zoning regulations for restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, to better support an inclusive social nighttime culture in Toronto and to gather insights and make recommendations for its night economy advisory bodies. The report outlined recommendations for next steps including public and key stakeholder consultations that will be held from March to June 2023.
This review intersects and complements other ongoing City initiatives for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, including:
Other relevant reports
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