Breweries in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood are banding together to convince the municipality that they should be able to serve customers more than a single flight of beer in a sitting.
Beere Brewing Co., House of Funk Brewing Co., Streetcar Brewing and North Pt. Brewing Co. have formed the Shipyards Brewery District Association in order to push for lounge licences for craft breweries, and have started an online petition to help get the public behind them.
North Vancouver city council voted unanimously on April 6 to fast track rule changes making it easier for breweries to open up lounges in the new Lower Lonsdale “brewery district.” Getting a lounge licence that would allow more generous servings, however, can take upwards of two years, according to city staff. Instead of processing all five rezonings individually, staff recommended writing the zoning bylaw so accessory lounges are automatically included in the M4 zone, according to the North Shore News.
The final vote takes place April 15 and the Shipyards Brewery District Association is asking the public to sign its petition ahead of the vote to show North Van mayor and council that the public supports the idea.
In particular, the petition asks the mayor and council to consider the following:
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- Creating an additional accessory use for the M-4 zoning; Accessory Lounge Use. That lounges be limited to 30% of the principal use’s floor area, up to a maximum of 80 m2 (861.1 square feet).
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- On-site outdoor patios are permitted with a maximum area which shall not exceed 50% of the permitted Accessory Lounge Use.
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- Adopt the policy as recommended by staff that provides direction for when staff are to refer provincial “Lounge Endorsements” to Council.
To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/city-of-north-vancouver-brewery-lounges-in-city-of-north-vancouver.
