Market Square

1.1.     Stratford Market Square is an unsupervised space;

1.2.     Parents/guardians are responsible for the adequate care, protection, and supervision of their children at all times;

1.3.     No horseplay or games with balls, pucks, sticks, or other objects are permitted in Market Square unless specifically permitted as part of an organized approved event;

1.4.     No cycling, inline skating, skateboarding, or motorized toys shall be permitted in Market Square;

1.5.     No smoking subject to City of Stratford By-Law 174-2003, Smoking in Public Places:

1.5.1.  No smoking in the area shown on the attached Schedule ‘A’ identified as Market Square;

1.5.2.  No smoking in the parking area or sidewalk area when they are utilized for a Special Event, as identified in Schedule ‘B;’

1.5.3.  No smoking within 9 metres of any entrance to Stratford City Hall.

1.6.     No consumption of alcohol is permitted in Market Square unless permitted as part of an approved event and consumed in a designated licensed area;

1.7.     No glass bottles or containers are permitted in the water feature located in Market Square;

1.8.     No interference with the operation of the Market Square water feature;

1.9.     Busking/Sidewalk artists are permitted in Market Square under the following conditions (unless as part of an organized event):

1.9.1.  Must perform at least 50 metres from other musical acts;

1.9.2.  Must not obstruct the passage of pedestrians, transit stops, building entrances or exits, display windows, or fire hose connections.

1.10.  As per City of Stratford’s Business Licensing Bylaw 187-2004, Section 13, private businesses located in Market Square may apply for a license to set up an outdoor café immediately adjacent to their storefront; 

1.11.  Food Trucks and/or concession stands are only permitted in Market Square during Special Events subject to the availability of space and at the event organizer’s and City’s discretion;

1.12.  Advertising is not permitted in Market Square unless it is an accessory to or subordinate to a use that has approval, and/or is tied to a permitted licensed use in Market Square.

Individuals, non-profit organizations, and private businesses may hold special events in Market Square subject to the approval of a Special Event Application, availability, and adherence to the following criteria unless an exception is granted: 

1.1.     A Special Event Application must be completed for all event requests in Market Square at least 12 weeks prior to the event;

1.2.     All events held in Market Square must be open to the public;

1.3.     As an outdoor public community space, Market Square cannot be closed at any time for any private events;

1.4.     Special public events that charge admission fees for access to Market Square will be subject to rental fees for use of the space, in accordance with the attached Schedule ‘C;’

1.5.     Tents that are put up for special events must use the appropriate tent anchors or be weighted to ensure the security of the tent.  Tent pegs are not permitted to be hammered into the concrete; 

1.6.     Tent permits are required for tents or groups of tents in excess of 60 square metres. If a tent permit is required, a tent permit application must be submitted prior to Special Event Application approval;

1.7.     A limited number of movable tables and chairs are available in Market Square. The City does not provide additional tables and seating. Any additional tables and chairs required for a special event shall be the sole responsibility of the event organizer;

1.8.     The proposed Special Event must not endorse views and ideas that may or are likely to promote discrimination in any form and must be consistent with the City’s core values and Code of Conduct;

1.9.     The proposed Special Event must not interfere with normal business conducted by the City and City staff or with any other activities permitted or businesses operating in the immediate area;

1.10.  The City has full and exclusive authority over the scheduling of events in Market Square and reserves the right to cancel an event without providing reasons upon providing a minimum of two weeks advance notice in writing;

1.11.  The City of Stratford may rescind approval of a Special Event at any time if the terms and conditions outlined in the Special Event Application are not complied with;

1.12.  All approved road closures must ensure that the road is opened at the time specified in the Special Event approval letter.  If the road remains closed past the approved time, event organizers will be charged $50 per hour of continued closure of the road up to a maximum of $500.00 per day;

1.13.  Road and parking closures associated with special events are prohibited during the opening week of the Stratford Festival, held annually in the last week of May;

1.14   All event organizers booking events in Market Square are required to pay a refundable security deposit:

1.14.1.         Market Square must be returned to the condition that it was in prior to the Special Event on or before the time specified in the Special Event approval letter, or organizers forfeit their security deposit; 

1.14.2.         If damages exceed the amount of the security deposit, event organizers will be charged for any damages to City property (e.g. damage to surfaces, furniture, fixtures, etc.), for any cleanup that the City has to undertake after the special event, and for any additional costs or services that the City incurs as a result of the terms and conditions of this policy not being met;

1.14.3.         Event organizers who wish to dispute a non-refunded security deposit can appeal to Stratford City Council through the Infrastructure, Transportation, and Safety Subcommittee.

1.15.  The fees and charges outlined in Schedule ‘C’ shall be adjusted annually on 1 January where indicated in the schedules of City Of Stratford Bylaw 77-2013 according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  The CIP calculation is based on a 12-month average of the total CIP as calculated by the Bank of Canada from 1 November to 31 October. 

Policies:

P.3.3                Municipal Property

P.3.5                Municipal Alcohol

P.3.7                Special Occasion Permits – Public Events With Municipal Significance

C.1.13              Facilities Code of Conduct 

Bylaws:

77-2013            Fees and Charges

113-79              Noise Control

159-2008          Traffic and Parking

174-2003          Smoking in Public Places

187-2004          Business Licensing

a)            All event organizers booking events in Market Square are required to pay a $250.00 security deposit for rental of a portion of Market Square (excluding the parking area); 

b)            All event organizers booking events for all of Market Square (excluding the parking area) are required to pay a $500.00 security deposit;

c)            All event organizers booking events for all of Market Square including the Parking Area are required to pay a $600.00 security deposit;

d)           The security deposit will be fully refunded to event organizers so long as Market Square is returned to the same condition that existed prior to the Special Event;

e)           The security deposit is payable the earlier of 10 business days from the approval of the Special Event or a minimum of 10 business days prior to the special event.

Special Events held in Market Square will be charged the following base daily rental fees for the use of Market Square: 

a)           All of Market Square - $452.00/day

b)           All of Market Square (Community Organization) - $56.50/day

c)           Adjacent Parking Area - $226.00/day

d)           Adjacent Parking Area (Community Organization) - No fee

Supplementary Fees will be charged for use of services or for removals as follows: 

a)           Hydro Access Fee - $16.95 per location per day;

b)           Water Access Fee - $16.95 per day;

c)            Fees for after-hours washroom access (minimum 1 hour):

**All rates subject to applicable tax.

***No Charge for Government and Public Agencies for bookings Monday to Friday and day-time on Saturdays.

All rates are also subject to an annual Consumer Price Index increase rounded to the nearest dollar.

Registered  Charitable  Organizations  receive  a  20%  discount  and  must  provide  their charitable registration number.

In 2015, the City of Stratford retained AtFocus Consulting to facilitate the Market Square visioning and community consultation process.  This process included stakeholder interviews, workshops, focus groups, and a public survey for which we received 1060 responses.  The feedback from this public consultation process resulted in the formulation of guiding principles and vision scenarios for Market Square that were presented to council on 19 May 2015. The reports are available here:

AtFocus Market Square Presentation to Council

AtFocus Market Square Council Meeting - 27 July; Revised 21 September 2015

Stratford Market Square Vision Attachment - 19 May 2015

In late 2015, the City issued a request for Prequalification (RFPQ15-08*) to shortlist architectural design firms interested in designing the redevelopment of Market Square.  We received 20 responses and invited 3 shortlisted firms to submit design proposals (RFP15-09*).  Proposals were received on 17 February 2016.  Design proposals are available here:

GSP Group**

MMM Group**

Janet Rosenberg and Studio**

*The RFP documents are for information only.  The City of Stratford is not inviting further responses to these RFPs.

**Note that these design submissions are subject to copy right protection laws. 

On 29 March, Stratford City Council retained GSP Group to create the conceptual design for the redevelopment of Market Square. The report on the selection process is available here:

20160329 - Report - Market Square Design Selection Process

Since that time, GSP has refined the conceptual design in consultation with City Staff and community stakeholders.  The revised conceptual design was presented at a public Open House on Wednesday 1 June 2016.  It was presented to Council for consideration on 13 June 2016.  The link to the revised conceptual design is here:

Market Square Conceptual Design - Open House, 1 June 2016

The City invited public feedback on the design and presented comments to GSP and Council. For more information on design items considered by Council, please see our 17 May report to the Finance and Labour Relations Subcommittee: The report is available here:

20160517 - Report - Market Square Design Expenses

After receiving design approval from Council, City Staff worked with GSP Group to refine the design and prepare the construction documents for tender.

20161613 - Market Square Cost Estimates, Transit

20160613 - Market Square Design Presentation

20170113 - Market Square Design

20170116 - Market Square Update