The owners of Haliburton’s Hook, Line and Sinker restaurant say they may have to pull the plug on their plan to install a second-floor seasonal patio 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 revenue over the busy summer season.
The project has been held up pending bylaw review – with township planner, Jeff Iles, informing council at a recent meeting there’s a disconnect between the two parties over how to define the new space. Iles claims, since food will be served on the patio it should be considered an extension of the restaurant. Because capacity will increase, he said the restaurant is required to provide an additional 22 parking spaces before the project can be approved. Iles said the township uses two methods to calculate parking requirements – designate one spot for every nine square metres of floor area, or one spot for every four people who can be legally accommodated at one time.
He said the township typically goes with whichever creates more parking.
The restaurant currently has 40 parking spaces according to the township – 16 on-site and 24 across the road in the Head Lake Park parking lot. Based on its existing inside capacity of 112 people, that translates to 28 parking spaces. Based on the floor area, estimated at 565 sq. metres, the need is 63 parking spaces. There is a second-floor residential space that requires two additional units, Iles said.
The owners claim since the township’s bylaw defines floor area as the space of all floors within the exterior walls of the building – specifically excluding patios, decks, and verandas – the approximate 160 sq. metre extension shouldn’t be factored in.
At its Nov. 26 meeting, Dysart council sided with staff, confirming its position that the patio would be an extension of the restaurant.
Because there’s no existing space on-site to accommodate more parking, Iles said the township would have to designate additional space at the Head Lake Park lot, which he states could be problematic.
“The lot across the road has a total of 77 spaces – we’ve already allocated 33 spaces. Even if we were to do another 20 or so… there would only be 24 left for the public,” Iles said, noting the space gets busy during the summer for people launching boats on the water, visiting the park, or attending events such as the Haliburton County farmers market.
Coun. Pat Casey said he’d like to see the township work with the restaurant on a resolution that makes all parties happy. He suggested an earlier offer from Pridham, to secure 10 additional parking spots for $20,000, was fair.
“It’s not like they’re creating more capacity – if we went by those 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 with the patio expansion. He also warned council against setting a precedent it may have to honour in future.
Coun. Barry Boice suggested splitting the difference with the restaurant in half – per the bylaw, the township would be due $44,000. Iles said the amount charged for parking can be determined at a future meeting.
Pridham said he hopes to come to terms, but noted what is being proposed is way beyond the restaurant’s budget.
“As it stands, the town is looking for an additional 20 parking spaces to be paid for – in other words, a fee of between $20,000 and $40,000, which would, unfortunately, make sure the project would not go ahead,” Pridham said.
