Toronto City Council today approved a series of changes to Toronto’s zoning bylaw that will make it easier for brewers across the city to manufacture and sell their products at a single location. That means brewers now have the option of operating a tap room in a restaurant or making a retail store part of a brewery, or as another example, operating a restaurant and a brewery in the same space.
The changes respond to the needs of today’s brewing industry. Craft brewers operate differently and need more flexibility than the industrial-scale breweries that existed when the City’s pre-amalgamation zoning bylaws were originally drafted.
The zoning bylaw amendments include:
• the ability to establish retail stores with limited on-site production in mix-used zones
• outdoor patio permissions in certain employment zones
• removal of the requirement for a partition wall between beer production and restaurant / retail store areas in employment zones
• the permission of restaurant and retail store space as a percentage of beer production space in employment zones
• removal of the requirement to include beer production and related space within a restaurant towards the maximum restaurant size allowed (beer production space will now be treated similar to kitchen spaces, which are exempt from size calculations), and
• consistency established across the city regarding zoning interpretations for restaurants and uses related to brewing.
The zoning bylaw amendments were recommended after substantial public consultations and grew out of a May 2015 request by City Council for City staff to work with owners and operators of local breweries to create a supportive regulatory environment and help grow Toronto’s beer sector. At that time, staff convened a meeting with a number of local Toronto brewers to discuss how the City can support the brewing industry. The group became known as Cask Force.
Following a May 2017 request by City Council to review the zoning bylaw permissions for breweries, restaurants and related uses, Cask Force was again a major contributor to the consultations and conversation. The group has met on several occasions since 2015 and will continue to meet to discuss regulatory and economic development matters concerning the craft beer industry in Toronto.
The Council agenda item detailing the zoning bylaw amendments is available at http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2019.PH7.2.
Quotes:
“The number of local breweries in Toronto has grown considerably over the last decade, during which time they have become an increasingly important part of the city’s economic and cultural identity. We’re happy that we have been able to work with the industry to bring about these important changes that just make sense.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The amendments approved by Council today are a great example of government and industry working together to bring about progressive change. The Cask Force collaboration supports business, the economy and the vibrancy of our city.”
– Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Ward 9 Davenport), Chair of Planning and Housing Committee
“These new zoning permissions remove barriers and modernize our bylaws to make it much easier for brewers to be successful in Toronto. As the organizer of the Cask Force, I look forward to continuing to work to support craft breweries in our city.”
– Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 11 University-Rosedale)
Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.9 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cityoftoronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.