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Expansion approved for O'Aces Bar

Overuling chief administrative officer Joe Fratesi and planning director Donald McConnell, City Council has approved an expansion of O'Aces Bar and Cafe at Queen Street East and Gore.

Overuling chief administrative officer Joe Fratesi and planning director Donald McConnell, City Council has approved an expansion of O'Aces Bar and Cafe at Queen Street East and Gore.

The bar's 23-year-old owner, Romina Fiser, applied for a zoning change to allow an additional 75 seats in an adjacent part of the building that has not been used since the Royal Hotel closed.

Fiser also wanted approval for outside seasonal seating.

The fire department had no objections to Fiser's plan. Neither did the City's engineering, community services, legal or building departments.

Sault Transit, the Economic Development Corporation, the PUC and the local conservation authority were also consulted, and none expressed opposition.

But Fratesi and McConnell wanted Council to turn down the rezoning application, arguing that it should only be approved if Fiser could provide 71 additional parking spaces.

Fiser's lawyer, Frank Provenzano, argued that patrons of O'Aces don't overrun the nearby parking lot, but many patrons of neighbouring establishments do park there.

Ward 4 Councillor Lou Turco was the sole member of Council to oppose the O'Aces expansion, quoting police as saying there were 126 incidents last year in the neighbourhood, including three 911 calls that specifically involved O'Aces.

"We're going to make a bad situation worse in that part of town," Turco said.

But Ward 5 Councillor Debbie Amaroso countered that three incidents a year is negligible for any bar.

Ward 1 Councillor James Caicco said the City has to find ways of facilitating such applications, instead of simply rejecting them.

Councillors voted to deny Fiser the zoning change, but nonetheless agreed to allow her to expand O'Aces without providing additional parking.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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