The Municipality of Bluewater has passed some amendments to their patio by-laws to allow for more flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Paul Klopp said this is all about maximizing the space businesses have while adhering to physical distancing regulations, by allowing owners to have patio seating available even in parking spots, among other things.
While patios used to require fencing around them for liquor licenses purposes, Klopp says the province has eased those guidelines as well because of COVID-19, and now all business owners are required to do is make people aware of where their property begins and ends, something even a line of chalk would suffice.
Klopp would like to see a more relaxed approach to by-laws like this in the future and says for now these changes only apply for this year, but said it’s possible they’ll explore keeping them in place for next patio season.
