Persephone Brewing Company has received support from local government for provincial lounge and picnic endorsements, which could allow it to serve regular drinks – rather than samples of its beer – at its location on North Road.
West Howe Sound director Mark Hiltz called the vote a “win-win” while Elphinstone director Donna McMahon said the lead-up to the decision was a “saga.”
In addition to unanimously voting to support the endorsement, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors also voted to relax a bylaw, allowing the brewery to increase its indoor seating capacity to 65, subject to a slate of conditions, including providing a minimum of 80 parking spaces, and limiting business hours to between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in winter and 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. in summer. Live music will be permitted on the weekend between noon and 6 p.m.
Prior to the vote at the SCRD planning committee meeting, Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Siegers said she was “very concerned about the limitations on the hours,” since they were stricter than what’s laid out in the SCRD’s noise bylaw and in B.C.’s liquor control and licensing regulations. “We’re looking at actually limiting the viability of this business in this area,” she said.
In response to Siegers' concerns over the hours of operations, McMahon said she was “kind of reluctant to monkey with this too much on the fly.”
“While I appreciate the issues that director Siegers raised, this has been the saga … and I think staff has come up with a workable solution.”
Hiltz, Gibsons Mayor Bill Beamish and chair Lori Pratt agreed.
Brian Smith, CEO of Persephone, attended the Jan. 10 meeting and told directors the company was “willing to live with” the limited hours of operation.
“Our business operation really isn’t a pub, it’s not a late-night venue and it never will be,” he told the board.
The limitations to the brewery’s operating hours stem from tensions between nearby residents and the business. As the company sought the support of the SCRD for the zoning amendment and endorsements, nearby residents expressed concern about the company’s operations, including its growth and the management of its wastewater.
Hiltz was one of those residents and raised the issues on behalf of residents at the board last September while running for director for West Howe Sound in the civic elections.
At Thursday’s meeting, Hiltz advised the board of a “possible perception of bias.”
“I do not have a direct or indirect financial interest in the matter. I intend to take part in this agenda item with an open mind,” he said.
Later, Hiltz made the motion to add “effluent testing lab reports” to one of the recommendations that Persephone publish performance data of the brewery’s wastewater treatment system. He also requested that performance data be brought to the planning committee in the first quarter of 2020 for transparency and “to help build trust with the community.”
In an email to Coast Reporter following the decision, Smith said the decision was “great news for our company, employees, partners and community.”
With the SCRD’s approval in hand, the province will now process the company’s endorsement application.
“We don’t have a firm commitment … in terms of timeline,” Smith said. “We are hoping for a few weeks as opposed to the months and months it took us to get here.”
