City not trying to ‘nickel and dime businesses to death’ with patio fees: Knack

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack discusses why he regrets his city's patio strategy, the recent traffic safety report and how he's preparing for the fall referendum.

After hearing concerns from businesses about potential patio fees coming their way, Mayor Andrew Knack says the city is ready to re-evaluate after passing a motion earlier this month.

The price for patios ranges from $500 to $6,900 depending on the side and if it has a boardwalk sidewalk.

Knack says some of the money previously used to pay for the patios came from the city’s automated traffic enforcement program. It was taken away by the province and the city had to look for other ways to cover the cost.

“We either fully subsidize it through property taxes or introduce user fees, so what I was unaware of is that on top of that, there were a number of encroachment fees,” Knack said during an interview with Your Morning Edmonton on Wednesday.

Knack says he was unaware there would be encroachment fees on top of the patio fees. In one case, one patio operator told the mayor it would cost him $70,000 on top of the $7,000 patio fee charge.

“I was comfortable with one small charge, not trying to essentially nickel and dime patios to death and not even allow them to start in the first place,” Knack added.

While the mayor wants the process to be easier for businesses, he says it won’t happen until early next year. City administration is working to find ways to address the immediate charges.

“We should be talking about a single smaller fee, not all of these other fees that add up to tens of thousands of dollars,” Knack said

While Edmonton is considered an affordable city to buy a home and build a life, the mayor admits it’s “hit or miss” when setting up a business.

“It is inconsistent right now when you’re trying to set up a business, set up a patio. You want to build things, usually we’re quick, but everything else needs to be as quick as if you want to build a home.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Kent Morrison