Riley’s Cidery received a renewal of their temporary use permit in a split vote from council this week.
The cidery business, which operates on Laura Road, was first granted a temporary use permit (TUP) by the municipality’s (BIM) previous council in March 2021. The land would otherwise need to be rezoned to allow permanent cidery operation. The TUP move wasn’t without controversy though, as more than 100 letters were sent to BIM in the leadup to the decision.
Total letters were weighted favourably toward approving the TUP, 72-33, but the split was much closer in the immediate mailout area surrounding the property, totalling 7-6 in favour of granting the TUP.
Unlike the public’s viewpoint, council wasn’t divided at all and approved the TUP unanimously. Despite a subsequent petition from some neighbours challenging the BIM decision which eventually went to the BC Supreme Court (the court ultimately sided with the municipality), Riley’s Cidery opened in July 2021. Since then the sprawling five-acre property, originally owned by John and Josephine Riley before changing hands to current owners Christine Hardie and Rob Purdy, have been busy welcoming customers through their doors, while also maintaining the sizeable orchard of around 1,200 trees and 1,000 different varieties of apple.
In advance of the original TUP’s expiration in three months, the cidery requested a renewal of the TUP for another three years. This time around it was council who were more split than the public over the matter. Letter submissions were well down from the original application but still weighted in favour of approval overall by 6-1 for properties within 300-metres of the cidery, with another three letters of support from the rest of the island. Manager of planning Daniel Martin, in recommending the TUP renewal be accepted, noted this support of neighbours, and the fact there have been no violations of the TUP since the permit was granted.
Councillor concerns centred more around how the municipality handles temporary use permits in general, rather than reservations about the operation of the cidery. Coun. Judith Gedye provided some context to the history of TUP use on Bowen.
“When there was that general amendment to the Official Community Plan in terms of taking out the language of short-term and seasonal, and putting in all of the areas around the whole island and changing the definition of temporary use… I think that was a massive change, and that changed the character of TUP’s altogether,” said Gedye.
“In some ways it feels like we’re skirting around the whole process of having a public hearing and a rezoning application and all of the amendments and nuances that can come from that whole process,” she added. A rezoning application is a more thorough and lengthy process, but brings a permanency to the final decision. Riley’s has contemplated beginning the rezoning journey, but opted to go the TUP route for now.
“The fact that there isn’t a rezoning application and the fact that hasn’t happened… we’re left in this situation in terms of do we just renew, or do we start considering some of the issues… I’m not reassured that they (Riley’s) are going to apply for rezoning,” said Gedye.
Coun. Sue Ellen Fast said she’s thinking beyond the cidery when coming to a decision. “This is more than a cidery. To me, it’s a living gene bank of heritage apple varieties and it’s like a museum… I think this is a wonderful service (preserving apples) that Bowen Island can do for the future and for Canada and the Northwest.”
“I think the cidery helps support the bigger project, and the bigger project is the one I’m more interested in… Other heritage apple collections die when the people move on or die. This is a collection that has been collected from those previous folks, it’s something very special. I’m in favour of renewing this TUP to give the applicants more time to make their plans and come forward with a rezoning application,” said Fast.
Coun. Tim Wake agreed that the apple preservation factor was important to focus on. “I think there’s a lot of benefits to this (renewal). We certainly want to allow the voices of complaint, but it’s clear to me – especially with this conversation – the applicant realizes a rezoning application is going to be required. I think the business should carry on, the heritage protection is happening because the cidery is in existence,” said Wake.
Council voted 5-2 to approve the new TUP, with Gedye and Coun. Alex Jurgensen, who also favoured a rezoning application, in opposition. The permit is for a three-year term, through Dec. 11, 2026.
