KITCHENER -- Waterloo bars and restaurants will be able to expand their patios after a decision made at a city council meeting.
Councillors approved the measures during a special meeting on Thursday morning.
It means that businesses can apply for a temporary permit to expand their patios into parking lots and other open areas.
If business owners don't own their land, they'll need authorization from their landlord or property owner.
There could also be restrictions on live or recorded music, depending on the location.
Councillors on Thursday stressed that this is a measure to help all Waterloo businesses, not just those in Uptown Waterloo.
On Wednesday, the City of Cambridge also announced it was introducing a process to make it easier for restaurants to make more outdoor space.
"By cutting red tape and streamlining the process, we are helping our local restaurant owners take advantage of patio season, to open quickly and to be able to offer expanded and new outdoor spaces to safely enable physical distancing," said Mayor Kathryn McGarry in a news release.
On Monday, Kitchener also approved a number of measures to help restaurant owners expand their patios.
Those measures include waiving the fee normally associated with opening a patio, and allowing those with existing patios to expand them.
Mayor Berry Vrbanovic has previously proposed the idea of shutting down some streets to vehicles to allow people to walk more freely, something Elora has decided to do on two of its major streets on weekends.
