As Toronto restaurants and bars cling onto the final weeks of summer, many restaurateurs are pushing to have portable heaters on their patios.
The City of Toronto has responded to those requests and announced last Friday that portable heaters, including propane heaters and other fire-fuelled appliances, will be allowed on all outdoor dining spaces, sidewalk patios and curb-lane cafés.
With the cooler weather fast approaching, the City hopes that heated outdoor dining spaces will allow restaurant operators to maximize their outdoor patio season, encourage physical distancing while dining and provide additional support for the local restaurant industry as they try to recover from the pandemic.
“We are doing everything we can to support our local restaurant industry,” says Mayor John Tory.
“I heard this request from the restaurant industry and took action to help allow portable heaters to safely keep CaféTO installations and patios warm, even in late October and November, to help extend the season. I want to thank city staff for working to find a way to make this possible to help restaurants as much as we can right now.”
In conjunction with the Toronto Fire Services, City officials have developed guidelines for the safe use of these portable heaters and will be closely monitoring and enforcing these regulations. Some of the guidelines include only using heaters that meet federal and provincial safety requirements, installing and storing units per the manufacturer’s instructions and removing heaters from the curb lane when the patio is not in use.
The recent amendment allows restaurateurs to bypass the numerous documents and applications required for heaters on patios to be approved. The new Fire Services’ guidelines streamline that process and extra documentation is no longer required at this time.
