A tented area outside the Italian Canadian Club can remain, thanks to a mid-season motion from city council.
During a special meeting on Tuesday, council unanimously approved a pause on zoning bylaw enforcement for the Ferguson Street facility in The Ward, where a tent is not permitted.
“I think that they’ve established themselves well enough to show that they can be responsible for this,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie.
He took the idea to council after learning ICC officials failed to apply for permission to resurrect the tent they’ve been putting up the past few years, during the easing of such restrictions in light of the pandemic.
“There is, unfortunately though, a timing issue here with the summer upon them ,” said Guthrie, acknowledging, “this is very rare, kind of out of step.”
The mayor previously noted approval should have been sought from the city’s committee of adjustment – a process that can take several months.
To Guthrie’s memory, the only other time council has paused bylaw enforcement in this way is when it issued a similar decree for driveway widths in 2018.
Council’s unanimously approved motion calls for all applicable noise and building bylaws to remain in place for the ICC, as well as health requirements and provincial regulations.
The caveat is that ICC officials must seek formal zoning approval through the city’s committee of adjustment by Aug. 13.
If granted, approval for the tent would remain in place for future years.
