Lakeshore has to start again drafting greenhouse rules after current ones deemed too strict

Lakeshore will start all over again writing rules around where large-scale greenhouses can go after the province and Essex County said the ones it came up with were too restrictive.

Lakeshore spent months debating and getting public opinion to draw up amendments to draw up new rules. Those rules said greenhouses — notorious in the county for their pervasive glows on the night sky — had to be at least half a kilometre from homes.

But the province and the county have both rejected that setback. In a letter, the county said it "would severely limit the ability for commercial greenhouses to locate" on agricultural land.

Now Mayor Tracey Bailey says it's back to the drawing board. Lakeshore will meet with the county and province to hammer out rules that will work for everyone.

Bailey estimates new ones won't be ready until at least February.

"We know that we're limited in our power to restrict greenhouses," she said. 

"We're really looking for support from the province and the county on how we might be able to restrict further."

The greenhouse issue has gone on for months in Lakeshore. Council voted a year ago Thursday to ask the public for input around potential planning changes. Those consultations led to a zoning bylaw amendment saying greenhouses needed to be 550 metres from houses, and 5,000 metres from the Hallam Observatory in Comber. 

Chantelle Meadows of Comber was part of a vocal group of residents calling for restrictive rules around greenhouses. She worries that now the voice of residents won't be heard.

"The greenhouses are literally hundreds of metres from us already in our ward, so we can see the beautiful pink and purple skies already," she said. 

"We don't want them in our backyard."

Greenhouses need infrastructure

Richard Lee is executive director of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers. He sees this outcome as a new chance for "new partnerships."

"We don't want to cause any additional harm or nuisances to those townships."

Lee says it's a "common misconception" that greenhouses can be built anywhere. In reality, he says, they need infrastructure, hydro, gas, water.

"Unfortunately, a lot of those places are close to current existing homes."

Lee says the greenhouse industry is responsible for about 32,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario.