Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario
IN THE MATTER OF The: Liquor Licence Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.19, as amended
B E T W E E N:
Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Registrar
-and-
Toronto Island Café Inc., operating or intending to operate as Toronto Island Café Applicant
-and-
Charles Harp Resident Objector
DECISION
Panel: Kirsti Hunt, Vice-Chair S. Grace Kerr, Board Member
Decision Date: December 7, 2011
Hearing Location: Toronto, Ontario
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario 90 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M2N 0A4 Phone: (416) 326-0366 Fax: (416) 326-5566 Toll Free In Ontario: 1-800-522-2876 Website: www.agco.on.ca
Appearances
Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission ) Richard Kulis, Representative Toronto Island Café Inc., Applicant ) Robert Tanner, Representative Charles Harp ) On his own behalf and on behalf of the Resident Objectors
The Application
1The Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario ("AGCO") issued Notice of Proposal number 18704 dated May 13, 2011 to review the application for a liquor licence made by Toronto Island Café Inc. (the "Applicant" or "Applicants") operating as or intending to operate as Toronto Island Café, 20 Withrow Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2C4, (the "establishment" or the "premises"), establishment number 814407, on the basis the AGCO has received one or more written objections to the Application. A hearing of the application was held on June 28, July 12, 13 and August 9, 2011 in the City of Toronto.
Decision
2After considering all the evidence and submissions the Board approves the Application made by Toronto Island Café Inc. for a liquor sales licence for the outdoor areas at Toronto Island Café, 20 Withrow Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2C4. Reasons follow.
Preliminary Matters
3Charles Harp was granted party status on behalf of the Resident Objectors (hereinafter "the Objectors") at a pre-hearing conference on June 15, 2011. Ms Freya Godard and Ms Deborah Daniels-French assisted Mr. Harp.
4Mr. Richard Kulis appeared as representative for the Registrar and took no position on behalf of the Registrar and agreed to act as facilitator for the parties. Ms. Kate Varva, representative of the Registrar was also present on day 2.
5A package of objection letters was made Exhibit 1.
6The Applicant's disclosure package was made Exhibit 2.
7The Objectors' disclosure package was made Exhibit 3.
Background Information
8The following background information was gleaned from the parties' evidence.
9The Applicant is a corporation whose principals are the Freeman McIntyre family, namely, Dr. Maura McIntyre, her partner Peter Freeman, her son Zorah Freeman-McIntyre and her daughter Maeve Freeman-McIntyre.
10Dr. McIntyre and Mr. Freeman have been partners and have lived on the Island for 30 years.
11The Toronto Island Residential Trust (the "Trust") is a provincial body that governs and has control of the residential land and public buildings on the Island. The Trust-owned lands and buildings are surrounded by City of Toronto parkland.
12Island residents lease the land for 99 years; they cannot sell their homes privately. Also, their homes do not appreciate according to market value because homes can be sold for replacement value only.
13The Ward Island [Recreation] Association (the "WIRA" or the "residents' association") is a registered, volunteer-run and -managed, not-for-profit organization that provides suitable opportunities to its members for amateur sport and social past-times. When its Clubhouse facilities are not being used for WIRA member activities, they may be rented to the public.
14The Island is accessible by ferry boat, water taxi, and private boats. The ferry runs every 30 minutes during the day and every 45 minutes during the evening in the summer, with the last ferry leaving the Island at 11:30 p.m. The City is a 10 minute ferry ride north of the Island. On a good day in summer, fifteen thousand people a day visit the Islands, with the vast majority going to Centre Island and a significantly lesser number going to Ward Island (where the Applicant establishment is located).
15The area around the Applicants' premises, using the map found in Exhibit 3, at tab a, is as follows:
a. The ferry dock is marked 1. The Ward Island Clubhouse (2) (hereinafter "the WIRA Clubhouse) is 300 feet from the ferry dock;
b. The Toronto Island Café (3) ("the Café") is in the northwest corner of the WIRA Clubhouse on Ward's Island, and the Café operations include the use of the north porch and adjacent lawn;
c. The sports field is across from the lawn bowling (7);
d. The proposed licensed area is (4);
e. The boundary between City and Provincial land is somewhere between (1) and (2). (Aside: there is some confusion about boundaries so it is not clear if the WIRA Clubhouse and Café are on City or Provincial land. Any discrepancy is irrelevant in the Board's decision since receiving a liquor licence is always subject to compliance with municipal regulations.)
16The WIRA Clubhouse is the gathering place used for member events as well as meetings, dances and rentals to people, mainly from the City, for private functions and weddings.
17The summer calendar shows that the WIRA Clubhouse was booked for every weekend (Exhibit 3, tab B). The outdoor part of these events use part of the lawn bowling and an outdoor bar may be set up in the area marked (6) on the map. The Toronto Island Café patrons will be using