City hall committee recommends changes to make it easier for craft brewers to open in Toronto

Housing and planning committee passed a motion to amend zoning bylaws that hurt the industry

Cbc.ca
July 4, 2019
Huyana Cyprien

A city hall committee approved recommendations Wednesday to amend zoning bylaws that are making it difficult for craft brewers to operate in Toronto.

The vote by the Housing and Planning Committee happened two years after Coun. Mike Layton -- along with a group of representatives from Toronto's craft breweries called the "Caskforce" -- put forth a motion that addresses two issues.

One is zoning barriers craft breweries face when trying to open; the other is making sure beer events and beer tourism are part of Toronto's economic development plan.

"It's the modernization of a bunch of old codes that didn't quite overlap what a brewery is," said Jason Fisher, owner-operator of the Indie Alehouse brewery and brewpub.

Coun. Mike Layton proposed the motion back in 2017, along with a group of industry representatives.

"No two breweries are the same, so if you wanted to have a little leeway in your model, you might be able to do it in one district and not in another and this allows everybody kind of the same way to run their business."

The motion still needs to be passed by the city council.

The old bylaw problems

"Brewery" is defined as an industrial space in the zoning bylaw. According to Layton, that meant small craft breweries couldn't open up in commercial areas. They had to operate in industrial areas, instead.

"The city didn't really have a place for craft breweries. They were looking at us like they would a giant manufacturer who might be making millions of litres of beer a week," said Steve Himel, of Henderson Brewing.

At the same time, industrial areas didn't permit retail, taprooms or patios -- things that are critical to the operation and sale of beer from a craft brewery.
"This [motion] fixes both sides," said Layton.

"In commercial areas it allows for the craft beer, the brewery to function and then on the other side in the industrial areas it allows for the taprooms, patios and retail shops."

Craft beer capital

Four years ago, Layton said he wanted to make Toronto a more craft beer friendly city.

"Some people took it as a joke that I called for the city to become the craft beer capital of the world," said Layton.

"But I was quite serious that there was a need for the city to take action to address what was a rather dated zoning bylaw and procedures that the city was using, when dealing with craft breweries."