Sechelt's public hearing Tuesday night about adding wineries to the permitted uses in RR-1 and RR-2 zones drew a modest crowd that was in favour of the change.
A winery is defined in the bylaw as "an establishment involved in the manufacturing, packaging, storing and sale of grape and fruit-based wines, including a wine bar and restaurant." The bylaw calls for a minimum parcel size of two hectares for the activity.
The change was prompted this spring when an applicant came forward looking to convert a property in Selma Park into a winery, director of development services Ray Parfitt explained at the June 5 hearing.
"Staff felt that a wider application existed than simply the one site-specific location proposed," he said.
As a result, the bylaw change was drafted and the five people who spoke about it Tuesday night were in favour of wineries in rural areas, although some had a few words of caution for council.
Sechelt resident Robert Paulin said he was in favour of allowing wineries in the District, but asked council to look at increasing the needed lot size to allow more room to grow enough grapes to produce a profitable crop.
He added the roadway in Selma Park where a winery is proposed is not a full two lanes wide and could be problematic for increased traffic to the site.
He also asked council to consider looking at specific business zoning for the winery usage, rather than allowing it in all RR-1 and RR-2 areas.
Bob and Sandra Michor both said they thought the change was a good idea, as did Jim Cleghorn, who said residents are currently allowed to grow grapes in the rural zones so allowing them to do something with those grapes makes sense.
"We don't need another Target Marine situation where you can grow something on your property, but you can't process it," he said.
Farmer Jon Bell also gave his support to the proposed change, saying it is likely wineries would need to bring in more grapes to produce enough wine to sell locally, and that need could be beneficial to local farmers.
"Some of us might be looking for an outlet to sell fresh grapes end of season so that would be a wonderful opportunity for us," he said.
Council has already given two readings to the proposed bylaw change. They will consider third reading and adoption at a future council meeting.
