Lavender farm gets approval for agri-tourism uses

A controversial lavender farm proposed for the 8th Concession of Nottawasaga has been given the green light by the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC).
At a Sept. 16 meeting, commissioners voted 9-4 in favour of an application from Fennario Meadows Lavender Farm which includes On Farm Diversified Use (OFDU) allowing for farm tours, parking and limited on site retail. NEC staff had recommended against this option, noting that current rules only permit OFDU’s in areas classified prime agricultural and the site in question does not have that designation.
In moving to approve the application, Clearview councillor Barry Burton said the bottom line in this discussion is whether or not this is prime agricultural land. He cited a discussion with officials at the County of Simcoe who acknowledge that the land designation is based on very old mapping, and that the county has made exceptions in the past.
An agronomist report, commissioned by land owner Jim Muzyka found that 64 per cent of the land in question fits the criteria for prime agricultural. The entire area, including neighbouring properties is currently being farmed. registered professional planner, Andrew Pascuzzo told commissioners that the planned use and scale will not negatively impact the natural escarpment environment, and that the proposed lavender farm is in many ways comparable to wineries and cider operations currently operating in the region.
Pascuzzo said the province’s 2018 Growth Plan relies on mapping that is 50 years old and that it makes sense to use the most current and accurate information available. He added that reliance on the 2018 Growth Plan appears to be subjective and discretionary given that Grey and Bruce counties are not included.
In responding to concerns about traffic, Muzyka said the number of cars visiting the site will be controlled by a reservation system and that the lavender fields will be screened from the road by fencing and dense woods so there will be no reason for cars to stop along Concession 8 for pictures. He suggested that references to a “lavender theme park” in radio, print and social media advertising by opponents of the lavender farm bear no resemblance to what is actually proposed.
Konstantine Stavrakos, a lawyer representing neighbours seeking to block the proposal, noted that by limiting traffic to 120 cars per day during the June to August lavender season, the owners would be turning away thousands of paying customers. He referenced a report by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) suggesting that there is little or no market for lavender and related products in Ontario, and that lavender operations are dependent upon visitors to generate income. Stavrakos says the NEC does not have the resources to plant someone on Concession 8 to count cars and ensure compliance and that attempting to gain compliance after the farm is in operation would be akin to trying to put the genie back in the bottle.
Following a lengthy discussion of the Fennario Meadows lavender farm proposal, the commission moved quickly to approve a proposal from Kelso Lavender Farm near Milton.
NEC staff has been instructed to prepare a review and analysis of Niagara Escarpment Plan agriculture policies for discussion at the November meeting. Commissioner Johanna Downey of Peel Region suggested that many of these policies date back to a time when members of the agriculture community were not seen as stewards of the environment.