As Toronto City Council prepares to vote on a bylaw next month that would limit the number of bars and restaurants in Parkdale, other neighbourhoods are wondering if they’re next.

The bylaw, approved unanimously last week by the Toronto and East York Community Council, would, among other things, restrict so-called nightspots to 25 per cent of businesses in four sections of Queen St. W. between Roncesvalles Ave. and Dufferin St. There is currently a moratorium on new establishments in the area.

It is an initiative that has the West Queen West Business Improvement Area worried that the neighbourhood it encompasses along Queen St. W. between Bathurst St. and Gladstone Ave. could one day be slapped with a cap.

“(WQW) strongly opposes the idea being discussed by a few of the Toronto City Council members to impose a cap on the number of restaurants allowed in an area,” states a letter sent by the BIA’s executive director, Robert Sysak, this week to Mayor Rob Ford, Ward 18 Councillor Ana Bailao and Ward 19 Councillor Mike Layton.

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“WQW understands the concerns that have been raised, but we believe that the city is taking a sledgehammer to a problem that only needs a band-aid.”

In an interview with the Star, Sysak said he is aware of some complaints about noise from nearby nightspots, but said the best approach is for residents and businesses to work together.

“If you work as a group together, you don’t always get what you want, but you get a compromise,” he said. “We hope we’re not even on the radar (for a cap), but I think it’s bad for anywhere in the city.”

Sysak points out in his letter that West Queen West was recently named the 17th most stylish neighbourhood in the world by American lifestyle magazine Complex¸ and expresses concern that limiting the number of bars and restaurants will “ruin neighbourhoods by causing areas that were once alive, vibrant and had the majority of their business properties occupied, to turn into areas that have vacant and boarded buildings.”

Bailao, one of the two councillors whose ward includes the neighbourhood, has not explicitly said whether she is for or against a cap. She said she is watching what unfolds in nearby Parkdale, and continuing to speak with residents and businesses.

“The reality is, there are absolutely issues because you have residents in the area who really enjoy those establishments, and others who feel a little bit more frustrated, so we’re trying to find that balance,” she said.

Bailao said she would be open to having city planners study the impact of the influx of bars and restaurants on the community, similar to a request made by Councillor Adam Vaughan last week to look at the impact in Kensington Market. But she said she would prefer to revisit the issue after the summer.

The Parkdale bylaw, championed by local Councillor Gord Perks, is being considered by others as a kind of pilot project that could be implemented in some way in their neighbourhoods, in an effort to appease residents furious that their sleep cycle is being constantly disrupted by the party crowd.

Councillor Paula Fletcher has also expressed interest in looking at restricting nightspots in Leslieville, according to media reports. Fletcher’s office declined the Star’s request for comment.

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Perks said he is fairly confident the bylaw will be approved by city council at its July 16 meeting and be upheld in an Ontario Municipal Board challenge, should it come to that. He said he’s concerned for the well-being of residents, as well as for smaller businesses whose rent will continue to increase if more bars and restaurants pop up.

The Parkdale BIA, for its part, is remaining neutral on the bylaw issue, saying it has members firmly placed on both sides of the debate.