Lakeshore residents say they don't support large-scale greenhouses

As the municipality of Lakeshore looks at how a greenhouse industry could affect the community, some residents have already made up their minds.

Many who spoke up at an open house at the Atlas Tube Recreation Centre in Belle River on Tuesday were opposed to the idea of large-scale greenhouses — the kind of operations seen in Kingsville and Leamington — setting up shop in the community.

Residents are concerned with issues such as light pollution and odour from cannabis operations.

Jill Miner, who lives in Comber, has started a petition to demand a bylaw that puts restrictions on the greenhouses if they start sprouting up.

"If we can get that bylaw passed that has the legal requirements to satisfy the air, the light, the water supply, the sewage supply, as well as the direct costs that are associated with increasing those so these greenhouses could come in, at least then, we've got our roots in place to hopefully slow the greenhouses down if not stop them," she said.

Tammy Stacey expressed concern about the lighting from greenhouses and the loss of agricultural land that the greenhouses will be built on. She also disagreed about the potential benefits.

"They're talking about jobs and the produce. So much of the produce is already shipped out and ... the average job is below living wage, so it's not a benefit to us," she said.

The municipality hosted the event, along with a virtual event earlier that day, so residents can give feedback.

The municipality commissioned a study looking at the impacts of greenhouse operations with production areas under glass that are more than five acres in area. There's no such structures in the town already.

The study examined infrastructure and systems that would be impacted by the introduction of greenhouses such as hydro, water and wastewater. It also examined issues such as the odour associated with growing cannabis, and housing for migrant workers, thousands of whom work in local greenhouses.

The report noted that there is no demand for new cannabis facilities, and that new greenhouse construction generally features blackout curtains to mitigate light pollution.

Provincial law prevents the town from banning the greenhouses totally but according to the study, it can impose restriction such as curtains to block out the light.

Mayor Tom Bain noted they could impose restrictions on greenhouses like they did with wind turbines in the past, potentially limiting their size and another characteristics.

"We're hoping that we're going to be able to certainly look at all these restrictions, and hoping that a lot of them that applied to the wind turbines will apply here, should we have to go through with it," he said.

An interim control bylaw in place prohibiting the greenhouses until the town can draft a plan to deal with them.

There will be another open house in Comber on Sept. 1.

CBC News is pursuing comment from the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.