Planning and Development Services Planning Division

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1 This document can be made available in other accessible formats as soon as practicable and upon request Staff Report Planning and Development Services Planning Division Report To: Committee of the Whole Meeting Date: June 25, 2018 Report Number: PDS Subject: Spy Cider House & Distillery Prepared by: Denise Whaley, Planner II A. Recommendations THAT Council receive Staff Report PDS.18.77, entitled Spy Cider House and Distillery for the Lands at th Sideroad; and THAT Council supports the applications for licensing to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for manufacturing, by-the-glass sales and retail store by the Spy Cider House and Distillery. B. Overview This report outlines a proposed Cider and Distillery use on the property at th Sideroad and requests Council support for an application for licensing to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for manufacturing, by-the-glass sales and retail store. C. Background Planning Services received an inquiry on the potential for establishing a Cidery and Distillery on the property at 24 th Sideroad in April At that time the property, an older orchard, was for sale. Piers Roberts and David Butterfield contacted Planning Services to ask about permitted uses on farm lands. Staff met with the Mr. Roberts and Mr. Butterfield to discuss their plans and the Town policies for on-farm agricultural businesses. The lands at th Sideroad, legally described as Part of Lots 23 and 24, Concession 10 (formerly the Township of Collingwood). The property is approximately 31 ha (78 ac), contains orchard trees and in an area of other orchards. The lands are designated Special Agricultural and with some minor Hazard area associated with a watercourse. The Township of Collingwood Zoning By-law zones the lands General Rural (A1) and Hazard (H). Much like with Georgian Hills Winery, staff determined that the proposed cidery and distillery, if conducted using on-site and local fruit, with a planted area of at least 2 hectares and with an on-site tasting room and retail limited to no greater than 25% of the total floor area of the facility is supported by the Town s Official Plan. In addition, much like Georgian Hills Winery, as

2 Committee of the Whole June 25, 2018 PDS Page 2 of 3 an agricultural use, the use would comply with the Town s Zoning By-law and Site Plan Approval does not apply. No further Planning Approvals were required. The current owners proceeded to purchase and improved the property. Mr. Roberts and Mr. Butterfield met with the Town s Building Services to develop their plans to apply building permit. It is our understanding that construction is well underway. At this time, the cidery and distillery uses need licensing with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGC) and the Liquor License Board of Ontario for the following: Manufacturer s License Manufacturer s Limited Liquor Sales License by-the-glass (for on-site sales of the products produced through the license above only) On Site Winery Retail Store License (as above on-site products only) A letter of request from the cidery is included as Attachment 1 to this report. If Council is supportive of the above, they may pass a resolution that provides support to the license that will be used by the owners in making their applications. D. The Blue Mountains Strategic Plan The recommendations in this report support the following goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan: Goal #1: Create Opportunities for Sustainability Objective #2 Attract New Business Objective #3 Promote a Diversified Economy Objective #4 Support Value-Added Agriculture and Culinary Tourism Objective #5 Improved Visibility and Local Identity E. Environmental Impacts None. F. Financial Impact None. G. In consultation with Internal Staff, including Michael Benner, Director of Planning and Development Services, Brian Worsley, Manager of Development Engineering, and Greg Miller, Manager of Building/CBO (formerly) and Elizabeth Cornish, Communications and Economic Development Coordinator. Staff also consulted with the County of Grey Planning and Economic Development Staff.

3 Committee of the Whole June 25, 2018 PDS Page 3 of 3 H. Attached 1. Spy Cider House and Distillery letter Respectfully submitted, Denise Whaley, MSc MCIP RPP Planner II Michael Benner, MCIP RPP Director of Planning and Development Services For more information, please contact: Denise Whaley, Planner II planning@thebluemountains.ca extension 262

4 Attachment #1 PDS Dear Mayor McKean and members of Council Hello: My name is Piers Roberts (Operations), My partners David Butterfield (CEO/Wine maker in Burgundy, France) and Paul Christopher (CFO/Butterfield & Robinson Travel Company accountant) are establishing an on-farm Cidery & Distillery called Spy Cider House & Distillery at th Sideroad in Clarksburg. The Business will produce Cider and fruit-based Spirits, such as Apple Brandy(Calvados), Vodka, Gin, eu de vie, and Pommeau, from apples grown on our 78 acre farm, and from surrounding orchards we purchase fruit from. We believe this area is the perfect environment to grow exceptional quality apples and that it can become a destination for Cider just like Niagara is a destination for wine. We have been consulting with Denise Whaley, Planner for the Town of The Blue Mountains about our project. We have been in contact with Denise since before we purchased the property in the summer of We first contacted Denise to see if this project was something that fit into the community and was the type of business they wanted to see in the area and we understand that it aligns with the Town's Strategic Plan, which includes supporting on-farm businesses and Agri-tourism businesses in The Blue Mountains. Once we heard this word of support, we purchased the property. It is our understanding through consultation with Town staff that Cideries and wineries are a permitted use of the Special Agriculture area, and we have been working with Greg Miller from the Town to work through the building permitting process. We intend to have a tasting room/retail inside our building and an outdoor patio area outside, where people can sample our on-site manufactured products. We have plans to add an accessory service of light food to go with our Cider and Spirits in the tasting room and patio areas. We are now in the final stages of construction at the site. We have put in 40,000 feet of piping for a state of the art geothermal loop for our cooling and heating needs in our production & retail building. The interior production area consists of six 12,000 litre fermenters, one 12,000 litre carbonation tank and one 700 litre CARL Still, with a 21 plate rectifying column (Vodka) and another 4 plate rectifying column (Brandy). We are waiting for power to be hooked up by Hydro One as we speak. The building is 35ft x 75ft. The building will have two sections, 25% will be for the retail section and 75% will be for production. Our intention is launch sometime in mid to late August if all goes according to plan. Once we have our timeline set we will send a formal invite to the Town of The Blue Mountains and the community.

5 Attachment #1 PDS Once we took possession of the 78 acre abandoned Apple orchard on 24th Sideroad our intention was to bring back as many of the Apples trees as possible. Last season we pruned 16 acres (8 acres Macintosh 8 Acres Spy) and sprayed organic inputs. This year we pruned those two sections again and pruned another 6 acres of trees at the front of the property for the first time. We have taken out and burned a lot of the old diseased trees and burnt them this spring. We intend to plant Cider Apple varieties in these sections next season. We also intend to plant the back 40acres in Cider Apples as well in the future. We are writing council because would like to get the Town's approval to manufacturer Cider and Spirits-retail Cider and Spirits and serve Wine by the Glass at our location listed above. Specifically, we need support of Council for our Licences with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for: - Manufacture of Alcohol on the property using on-site fruit and additional locally obtained fruit - Sales "by the glass" of alcoholic products produce in the manufacturing facility - Retail sales of the alcohol produced on the property We look forward to establishing our business in the Town, and to meeting members of Council and of the community as we launch our business. We look forward to establishing our business in the Town, and to meeting members of Council and of the community as we launch our business. Thank you Best regards Piers