Support has been pouring in for Persephone Brewing Company since last week, when concerns over noise and activities at the beer farm were raised at the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).
The SCRD board accepted a staff report on the issue at the May 21 community services committee meeting that noted “several concerns” had been raised and a formal complaint had been lodged on May 6.
Once the complaint was made public, the community rallied around Persephone on social media and in person, saying the beer farm was an important part of the community.
“We had a guy down at the Gibsons Public Market and he got inundated with people coming up to him on Friday, saying ‘we don’t know what’s going on but we want to support you guys’ … and likewise on Saturday and Sunday,” said Brian Smith, CEO and owner of Persephone Brewing Company, noting some were worried the establishment would close because of the complaint.
Smith doesn’t think the situation is that dire and he’s currently making an effort to talk with nearby neighbours to help ease any concerns. Persephone has also recently put in more parking, is trying to keep the noise down during events and has hours of operation that adhere to local bylaws, Smith said.
Persephone sits at 1053 Stewart Road in West Howe Sound, on a piece of property that’s in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
Smith explained the designation makes things a bit tricky, as far as determining permitted uses.
“We know for sure that across the province there are wineries and cideries that are in the ALR and they are having all kinds of events and activities, everything from weddings to concerts to festivals. So we know the provincial government accepts that wineries and cideries can do that, but the ALC [Agricultural Land Commission] hasn’t written regulations for breweries explicitly,” Smith said.
“So as a result they don’t know exactly how to treat us and the SCRD doesn’t know how to treat us. We’re clearly not residential and yet we’re on ALR, as are all of our neighbours also in the ALR, so it’s a complicated dynamic.”
While Smith works with the ALC and the SCRD to address concerns in the coming weeks, he also plans to go door to door in the neighbourhood to talk with any concerned residents.
“I want to respect our neighbours and I want to figure out how to deal with them directly and not through media and not through the political channels, but face to face in respectful conversation,” he said.
“This hasn’t escalated to a point of confrontation. It’s at this point a conversation and we want to keep having that conversation with our neighbours and try to make good by our community.”
Gibsons councillor and SCRD director Silas White, in his report to Gibsons council on June 2, noted the concern over noise and use at Persephone has been made a larger issue by some members of the SCRD board.
“At every opportunity at the SCRD in the last month, some directors have been passionately concerned with social/public activity at the Persephone beer farm in Area F, despite the fact that there are no reports of bylaw infractions,” White wrote in his report.
“As we all know, Persephone Brewery is a leading light and model for the new economy on the Sunshine Coast, particularly in association with agriculture and social enterprise/inclusiveness.”
Persephone beer farm is a social venture that benefits the Sunshine Coast Association of Community Living (SCACL).
“SCACL is an owner and also a beneficiary of all of our events,” Smith explained.
“All our events are fundraisers and the proceeds go to SCACL and then SCACL uses that money to pay for people with disabilities to work in agriculture on our farm.”
White warned against politicians fanning the flames of discontent at Persephone.
“If the SCRD continues to validate and promote NIMBYism as its driving focus, this issue will explode and expose our regional board as being astoundingly hypocritical on a number of points in our nascent strategic plan,” he wrote.
