Depending on your point of view, it’s either a case of sour grapes or rotten apples.
The owners of the Heritage Estate Winery and Cidery on Penetanguishene Road in Oro-Medonte Township, about one kilometre north of Barrie’s city limits, say complaints from their neighbours amount to little more than sour grapes.
Neighbours say they’re dealing with rotten apples, owners who have zero regard for those who live near them.
“I have been notifying the Township of Oro-Medonte about all of the changes and disruptions that we have been experiencing — noise, increased traffic/speed of traffic, dust, hostile behaviour of new owners,” a neighbour, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, wrote in an email to BarrieToday. “We have lost any enjoyment of our home due to the events carried out two to five times per week from May to November. We are at a loss of what to do now.
“The noise from these events are audible inside of our home with all windows and doors closed,” the letter writer added.
Walter Vaz, one of the owners of Heritage Estate Winery and Cidery, said it was highly unlikely that the music from his property could be that loud.
“I believe they are completely invalid,” he said of the noise complaints. “We have a sound study that we commissioned, and a second one over and above that, where we selected various spots on the property and they all came back positive. Zero issues.”
Vaz and his business partner Isaac Drookman purchased the property, an existing winery and cidery, located at 461 Penetanguishene Rd., in January 2022.
One of their main reasons for buying the property was that it was basically a turn-key operation. All of the zoning and township regulations had already been met.
The only thing Vaz and Drookman needed to do was some building upkeep and infrastructure repair. They applied for and received building permits in May 2022.
They opened for business in August of that year.
On March 6 of this year, Heritage Estates Events Inc. appeared before Oro-Medonte’s development services committee with a minor variance application to permit event functions within existing structures and on an existing concrete pad on a temporary basis.
At that meeting, four neighbours supported the application. Two told township officials the music wasn’t loud and they couldn’t hear it when they were inside their homes. The two others said they were in favour of agri-tourism and thought the business could make positive contributions to the local economy.
Four neighbours opposed the application.
One said, “the bass sound which travels through the ground, shakes windows/walls.”
Another claimed the business “has grown into a large-scale enterprise consisting of large weddings seven days a week.”
Two others argued the variance was not minor.
The township disagreed with that opinion.
“The proposed temporary minor variance is considered to be a practical measure to allow for relief from the zoning bylaw on an interim basis to allow the business to operate under specific parameters,” township officials wrote in their report to the development services committee.
Therefore, planning staff considered the proposed application ‘minor’ for the following reasons:
- The proposed minor variance generally conforms to the applicable designations as it would allow for a temporary minor expansion of the existing permitted uses without encroachment into the ‘Greenlands’ designation or removing agricultural land from production
- The proposed minor variance maintains the general intent of the zoning bylaw allowing for a minor encroachment into the agricultural/rural (A/RU) zone without being a detriment to the conservation of farmland and crop production on the property
- The development is considered appropriate as it provides for a temporary minor expansion and will establish specific parameters to mitigate off-site impacts that are currently not in place.
After hearing the application, the township approved the request with a number of conditions, including that the owner enter into a development agreement with the township to implement conditions to address the following considerations:
- That minor variance relief be provided from April 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2024
- That the extent of the approval applies to existing buildings and existing concrete pad utilized for past events generally within the A/RU zone, subject to compliance with the Ontario Building Code
- That all events be limited to 250 guests
- That events and uses conducted on the subject property comply with the township's noise bylaw
- That a noise mitigation plan be prepared by a sound engineer to assist with site layout and mitigation measures related to potential noise impacts.
The owners also agreed that the proposed event functions comply with all other applicable provisions of the zoning bylaw.
“We are in compliance with every single condition. Every one," Vaz said.
