Kensington Market Bar and Restaurant Study

SUMMARY

At its meeting on February 26, 2019, City Council directed City Planning staff, in consultation with appropriate staff in Municipal Licensing and Standards, Toronto Building, Economic Development and Culture and Legal Services, to conduct an analysis of restaurant and bar uses in Kensington Market and to report back on actions to protect the mix of uses in Kensington Market and control the impacts of restaurant and bar uses.

City staff are recommending a multifaceted approach to protecting the retail mix and mitigating the impact of restaurants and bars that includes a planning intervention and a community-based solution. The planning intervention recommends amending the zoning by-laws to limit the size of restaurants and bars in Kensington Market to 100 square metres. The recommended community solution is the establishment of a steering committee comprised of residents, businesses and relevant City staff, that would meet on a regular basis with the aim of improving communication, co-ordination and incident responses. This report also highlights and summarizes concurrent City initiatives and studies that are related to small scale businesses and the impacts of restaurants and bars in Kensington Market.

Based on the feedback staff received during the consultation process, and as part of further study for the mix of uses, staff are also recommending that that a separate study be conducted on strategies to regulate chain store retail in Kensington Market.