The owners of Haliburton restaurant Hook, Line and Sinker say they may have to abandon their plan to add a seasonal patio on the second floor overlooking Head Lake.
Taylor Pridham and Veronica Van Leeuwen have been working with Dysart et al for months. on the proposal, which would create seating for up to 30 additional guests. They say the patio would help the restaurant increase sales during the busy summer season.
The project has been put on hold pending bylaw review — community planner Jeff Iles informed the City Council at a recent meeting that there is disagreement between the two parties over how to define the new space. Iles maintains that patio dining should be viewed as an extension of the restaurant. Because capacity will increase, the restaurant will need to provide an additional 22 parking spaces before the project is approved, he said. Iles said the municipality uses two methods to calculate parking needs: designating one space for every nine square meters of floor space or one space for every four people who can legally be accommodated at the same time.
He said the community usually chooses whoever creates more parking spaces.
According to the township, the restaurant currently has 40 parking spaces – 16 on-site and 24 across the street in the Head Lake Park parking lot. Based on the existing interior capacity of 112 people, this equates to 28 parking spaces. Based on the estimated floor area of 565 square meters, there is a need for 63 parking spaces. There is a living space on the second floor that requires two additional units, Iles said.
The owners claim that the approximately 160 square meter expansion should not be taken into account because the municipality bylaw defines the floor area as the space of all floors within the external walls of the building – specifically excluding terraces, terraces and verandas.
At its Nov. 26 meeting, the Dysart City Council sided with the staff and reiterated its position that the patio would be an extension of the restaurant.
Because there is no room for additional parking on the site, Iles said the township would have to designate additional space on the Head Lake Park property, which he said could be problematic.
“There are a total of 77 parking spaces on the property opposite – we have already allocated 33 parking spaces. “Even if we did about 20 more, there would only be 24 left for the public,” Iles said, noting that the space is full in the summer when people launch boats on the water, visit the park or Participate in events such as the Haliburton County Farmers Market.
Coun. Pat Casey said he would like to see the community work with the restaurant on a solution that makes all parties happy. He said an earlier offer from Pridham to secure 10 additional parking spaces for $20,000 was fair.
“It's not that they're creating more capacity – if we were guided by these numbers, they wouldn't need an increase [in parking] at all,” Casey said.
Iles said the restaurant has indicated it wants to increase its capacity to 150 people through the patio expansion. He also warned the council about setting a precedent that it may have to consider in the future.
Coun. Barry Boice suggested splitting the difference in half with the restaurant – the township would be due $44,000, according to the bylaws. Iles said the amount charged for parking could be determined at a future meeting.
Pridham said he hoped to reach an agreement, but noted the proposal was well beyond the restaurant's budget.
“As it stands, the city is looking for an additional 20 parking spaces that will have to be paid for – in other words, a fee of between $20,000 and $40,000, which would unfortunately ensure that the project does not move forward,” Pridham said.