Vancouver city council has agreed to renew a pilot program that could see more restaurant patios staying open later this summer.

In a unanimous vote at city hall today (February 19), councillors supported a staff recommendation to allow large-patio operators to apply to extend their hours from 11 p.m. to midnight.

The extended patio schedule will be in effect from April to October. To be eligible for the later curfew, restaurant operators must not have received any noise complaints within the last year.

The move results from a motion introduced by Mayor Gregor Robertson last year.

“People in Vancouver have made it clear that they want to be able to enjoy later patio opportunities in neighbourhoods throughout the city, and I am glad that Council has responded with such strong support for these changes,” Robertson said in a press release.

The pilot was first launched late last summer, and saw 46 out of the 316 large-patio operators in Vancouver take part in the program. Two patio operators applied to extend their hours, but were denied due to previous noise complaints within the last year.

According to city staff, no complaints have been filed through the city's 3-1-1 phone service about the extended patio hours.

Staff will report back to council after this year’s pilot to see if the city wants to make permanent changes to the patio program.