It isn't summer until you're sipping mimosas at a patio. Thanks to Vancouver's new initiative, restaurants and breweries have been given the go-ahead to extend their patios for the summer of 2020. This means Vancouver patios are literally going to be bigger than ever. In an email sent to Narcity, Jessie Adcock, the General Manager of Development, Buildings and Licensing in the City of Vancouver, told us why the council has passed this motion. She said that it's part of the city's effort to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants and retailers can open their doors to the public again on May 19; this means that you can finally go to your favourite restaurant and enjoy an actual dine-out experience again. But physical distancing measures still need to be maintained, which means customers from different households need to be kept at least six feet apart. This poses an issue for the capacities of certain restaurants, which is why the city has decided to make it a lot faster for restaurants and breweries to get their patio permits. The decision will "allow businesses to serve patrons while ensuring physical distancing for patrons and employees." On the plus side, we get to sit outside and bask in the sun without worry about been hurried out or getting too close to others. Needless to say, we are beyond excited. I’m bringing Flexible, Innovative & Expedited Patio Permitting motion to Council today to look at opp for more flexiible & creative patios & more open-air dining to support our #restaurant sector. They’re in a world of hurt & need help to survive and recover. #smallbusiness pic.twitter.com/2VDAhGkoRt— Sarah Kirby-Yung 楊瑞蘭 (@sarahkirby_yung) April 28, 2020 City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung was the one who originally brought up the motion to the council. She posted on Twitter on May 13, saying that the council had passed this motion and that patios are going to take over the city in a big way very soon. Motion passes! Staff will move forward asap. New ‘Flexible, Innovative & Expedited Patio Permitting’ options will be avail imminently. Moving dining outside is a mission critical to our #restaurants ability to survive. #smallbusiness #economicrecovery pic.twitter.com/TPW7CoEoo7— Sarah Kirby-Yung 楊瑞蘭 (@sarahkirby_yung) May 14, 2020 The city's statement sent to Narcity also mentioned that officials are still considering options after Wednesday's council meeting. Adcock also said that potential bylaws could also be put in place regarding these patio permits. The statement concludes by stating the city anticipates implementing this expedited process in the coming weeks. In her original motion, Councillor Kirby-Yung mentioned how restaurants have been one of the hardest-hit sectors in the industry in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, when restaurants are allowed to have dine-in options available for customers, it's essential to support them for the economic recovery of the province. In her proposal, she also suggested that this could be an opportunity for creative patio ideas, like pop-up standing patios. She also mentioned that the streets and lanes could be utilized to give patios more space. Since we're all allowed to head to the restaurants again, it only makes that we get to hit up patios again, too. The fresh air, the sunlight, the cocktails flowing, this is what the season is all about.