The future of downtown Edmonton sidewalk patios has been thrown into doubt, with owners pointing to new and higher city fees. Just months into the patio program, the city is already looking to revisit it, prompted by the number of businesses now reconsidering whether to keep their sidewalk patios at all.
At the Rocky Mountain Ice House, the message was blunt. The owner said the best course of action would be to sell off what they can and take the patios down if that is what the city tells them to do, and then never put them up again.
While the venue is open for the summer, the owner said it will not stay open this winter unless something changes. He explained that the sidewalk patio cost 50,000 dollars to build and now carries a nearly 7,000 dollar annual price tag, an investment he no longer sees as worth it after planning for it to pay itself off over many years.
On Wednesday, city council approved a motion to revisit and revise the current patio program, which only took effect in April. The move came in direct response to the number of businesses reconsidering their participation so soon after the rules were introduced.
The councillor for downtown Edmonton, Anne Stevenson, said the city is not looking to completely move off patio fees. She framed the review as a matter of finding the right balance, noting that the fees play a role in offsetting some of the costs the city faces and in helping to manage property taxes.
At the same time, Stevenson said she has heard from businesses that the new program needs work, including taking bad weather into consideration. She pointed out that for some patios the fee is 500 dollars a year, and said the city should explore further options so operators can tailor their patios to the fees and the impacts involved.
For Wayne Jones, who also owns a patio, any relief may come too late. He said it feels as though the city is not very business friendly, adding that operators wonder why they should do business in Edmonton when Calgary appears to offer a friendlier atmosphere. Council is set to discuss the future of the patio program in early 2027.