Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee recommends against winery lounge in Phase 4 March 09/08 to Flying Shingle With thanks to all the islanders who took the time to write and be involved, I’ve attached below the resolution we passed last month, recommending to the Province that it not grant a license for a 100-seat winery lounge/restaurant. The existing license for the winery, tasting lounge and picnic facility is unaffected by our recommendation. Sheila Malcolmson Gabriola Island Local Trustee 247-8078 smalcolmson@islandstrust.bc.ca “Be it resolved that: 1. The Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee does not recommend issuance of the Theuerkorn Winery Lounge licence for the following reasons: This application is not supported by local residents who live closest and will be most affected (correspondence submitted to the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee was attached for the reference of the Liquor Licensing Branch, and is available at the Islands Trust office, 700 North Road). From these submissions, traffic volume and traffic safety concerns are dominant. This proposal does not support local agriculture at this time. 2. The Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee comments on the prescribed considerations are as follows: (a) The location of the establishment: Not recommended as proposed: the neighbouring zoning is residential, and the only road access is via Norwich Road, which is not suited to commercial traffic. (b) The proximity of the establishment to other social or recreational facilities and public buildings: Not applicable. (c) The person capacity and hours of liquor service of the establishment: The applicants noted that the 100 seats provided by the lounge licence are beyond their needs, and so we suggest that the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch consider offering a smaller capacity lounge licence in the future, as a matter of policy. In this application, the person capacity proposed in addition to the picnic licence already granted is too much for this location, as evidenced by the concerns expressed by immediate neighbours. Were the licence granted, hours should be limited to those proposed by the applicant in their January 22, 2008 letter to the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee, Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5pm, June to September (d) The number and market focus or clientele of liquor-primary licence establishments within a reasonable distance of the proposed location: The Surf Lodge pub is 2.1 km by road or 1.3 km as measured directly. A liquor store at Twin Beaches is a few more kilometres beyond that, and there are another three liquor stores and two more pubs still further away. These provide ample opportunities to purchase alcohol for Gabriola’s 4000 population. Beer and wine not produced at, but can be sold from the winery is in essence just an increase in opportunity for alcohol sales that is amply provided within reasonable distances from this proposed location. (e) Traffic, noise, parking and zoning: The proposed winery is in a residential neighbourhood with traffic to and from the establishment also travelling through residential neighbourhoods, as such traffic issues are a concern. The proposed lot is in a dead-end subdivision with no commercial zoning. The applicants have commented that they anticipate no increase in traffic as a result of the lounge; however, their proposal to the LCLB predicted increased traffic and tour buses. Norwich Road is the only access road into and out of the residential neighbourhood and the Gabriola Island Winery. This road is steep and narrow with poor visibility in several areas. The island community of Gabriola has no public transit and few taxis. Several writers, including one supporting the winery lounge, asked that the gravelled Balsam and Tamarack Streets should be resurfaced and reditched in order to manage increased traffic and resulting dust and potholes. The noise impact from a potential 100 person outdoor patio, with parties and special events cited by the applicants, is unreasonable for neighbours in a residential neighbourhood. Details on parking have not been provided, although the site appears capable of containing it without any street parking. The subject property is not zoned commercial or specifically permitted restaurant uses. The zoning of the proposed winery is agriculture, meant to support local farming enterprises. Agriculture use permits “the sale of agricultural products grown or raised on the lot” and the “growing.., producing or harvesting agricultural crops…for economic gain and includes the processing on a lot of primary agricultural products harvested...or produced on that lot”. Currently, the wine produced is not from grapes grown on the lot. Please refer to the attached November 6, 2007 staff report for more detail regarding zoning. (f) Population, population density and population trends: The circle population trends provided in the January 23, 2007 report by the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch were not for Gabriola, so this has not been assessed (g) Relevant socio-economic information: Not applicable. (h) The impact on the community if the application is approved: Benefits to the community have not been quantified in detail, and many concerns about negative impacts were expressed by a majority of immediate neighbours. 3. The Gabriola Island Local Trust Committees comments on the views of residents are as follows: The method used to gather the views of residents was as follows: Seven advertisements inviting comment were placed in the local newspapers (in the Gabriola Sounder December 3rd, December 10th (included 2 different ads), and December 24th; and, in the Flying Shingle December 15th (included 2 different ads) and December 30th; An Open House on the application was hosted by the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee on December 17/07 and was attended by approximately 50 members of the public; and Notice of the December 17 meeting was sent to all neighbours within 100 meters of the subject property. The views of residents were as follows: All correspondence is provided with this letter. The Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee received approximately 30 letters sent from members of the public, and two petitions with 28 signatures (some petition signatories also wrote letters). Some letter writers saw both sides. 8 letter-writers supported the application (of the 8, 6 are not neighbours of the winery). 18 letter-writers opposed the application (of the 18, 12 were neighbours of the winery). The 28 petition-signers were opposed to the application (all were neighbours of the winery). Comments and recommendations with respect to the views: There was not a public process undertaken by the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch for the original winery and picnic licence. Public consultation and inclusion in transparent government processes is fundamental as part of community decision making. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch decision making should always include community participation. The Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee supports the applicants’ efforts to establish a successful and productive farm. However, with the concerns raised and issues identified the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee does not support the application for winery lounge endorsement at this time.”