Ottawa hookah lounge owners waiting on potentially 'devastating' city council decision

Ottawa city councilwill vote today on whether or not tobanhookahs and other waterpipes from being smoked in public places.

• Ottawa city committee moves to ban hookah smoking
• This year could be the last for shisha smoking at Ottawa Lebanese Festival

The ban would mean smoking shisha from hookah pipes would fall in line with smoking tobacco, which has been prohibited from Ottawa restaurants and patios for 15 years.

Some hookah lounge owners say they run the risk of bankruptcy, and reject the comparison with tobacco.

This is part of our culture.- SamiJahanti,VIPShisha

"On our business, it will have a devastating impact," said Julia Moussa, who has owned the Bay Rock Caf in South Keys for almost two years.

"We're really stuck. I have no idea what to do."

Sami Jahanti, owner of VIP Shisha on Preston Street, is in a similar position.

"I put all my investing in this business and I'm losing all of it. So I will automatically go bankrupt."

Jahanti said his product which is entirely herbal, and is a big part of Middle Eastern culture should not be treated like tobacco.

"Lots of our people they don't want to go to a bar, they don't drink alcohol. But they smoke shisha. This is part of our culture," Jahanti said.

"When we're living in a multicultural country, we have to be respect the other culture, too. This is part of our tradition."

Ottawa Public Health said smoking hookah waterpipes exposes the public to the risks of second-hand smoke.

City councillor George Darouze, who was the only one to vote against the ban in committee, said there is a need for education about shisha, rather than another bylaw.

"I'm tired of being the nanny state and the government telling us how to do our business," he told CBC News. "I find in our city, we go from one extreme to another."

If the ban is approved by council, it will start on April 3, 2017.

Council also considers newSandy Hill development rules

City council will also consider changes to the residential development application process in the neighbourhood of Sandy Hill. The changes aredesigned to make sure infill homes and redeveloped properties leave enough space for garbage and parking, and use building materials that preserve the heritage character of the neighbourhood.

There are already a number of bylaws in place to discourage the overproliferation of student rooming houses in Sandy Hill, the neighbourhood bordering the campus of the University of Ottawa. But a meeting between university and community leaders in June revealed continued issues with the scale of development.

Sandy Hill student housing proposal rejected

City staff is reviewing the zoning for the area, which currently allows everything from single homes to four-storey apartment buildings, but that review isn't expected until next summer.

So in the interim, staff are recommending requiring nearly all residential development to be subject to a limited site plan control application process, which will let city staff review more developments.

The more limited site control will look at outside building materials, on-site vehicle parking, landscaping and a waste management plan, with fees ranging from zero up to $3,000. Current planning fees for a full site control plan application range from $3,124 to $18,326.

The addition of a new fee and new development review process could lead to extra costs for developers and could create a backlog at the city, but city staff argue those challenges are justified, given the pressures the neighbourhood isfacing.

Council will also be considering an update to the city's bylaws governing outdoor and indoor signs on private property across the city.