Concerns over size, location, and community benefit led the Lake Country council to hit the brakes on a proposal for temporary farm worker housing.
Khela Orchards Ltd. had applied to place 79 sleeping units across 17 trailers on a 7.9-hectare property within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) at 12192 Oceola Road.
Councillor Todd McKenzie, who also sits on the district乌鸦传媒檚 Agricultural Advisory Committee乌鸦传媒攚hich did not support the application乌鸦传媒攙oiced concerns about the scale of the project.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e seen us do this a few times in other areas and it ends up being a bunch of trailers that are a little bit of an eyesore,乌鸦传媒� he said.
While the application meets agricultural zoning regulations乌鸦传媒攁llowing up to 10 sleeping units per hectare乌鸦传媒攕taff noted that Khela Orchards farms 43 hectares across Lake Country. Technically, they could apply for up to 430 units.
Still, most of council didn乌鸦传媒檛 see a clear benefit to the community.
乌鸦传媒淲hilst I appreciate the need for the foreign workers, I personally don乌鸦传媒檛 think it乌鸦传媒檚 a fantastic location for that many people,乌鸦传媒� said Mayor Blair Ireland, pointing out that Oceola is a busy road.
He also questioned the broader value of the operation.
乌鸦传媒淚t keeps some cherry orchards going in the area乌鸦传媒攖hat乌鸦传媒檚 great乌鸦传媒攂ut what does it bring to the community?乌鸦传媒�
Councillor Tricia Brett framed it as a matter of principle.
乌鸦传媒淢aybe our rules technically allow for it, but I don乌鸦传媒檛 think the spirit of our rules allow for it. I think the net benefit to our community is an issue.乌鸦传媒�
Councillor Michael Lewis supported the application.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 see a lot of negatives for me personally,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 like the idea of supporting agriculture.乌鸦传媒�
Mayor Ireland added that local agricultural operations haven乌鸦传媒檛 backed similar applications in the past.
乌鸦传媒淣one of our rules are set up to support big industrial agriculture, and that乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e trying to deal with here,乌鸦传媒� he said.
Staff also noted that Khela Orchards would be responsible for paying for services like sewer and water to the trailers. The farm already has its own irrigation system, drawing water from Wood Lake.
Council voted not to move the application forward at this time.
Instead, they directed staff to work with the applicant to reduce the number of sleeping units and to develop a policy framework that could guide similar applications in the future.
