Sensible rules

Alysa Hawkins and Jesse Parker at home in Milford.

Shire Hall seeking flexibility in how it regulates special events on private property

Banjos, mandolins and guitars. Tents, hammocks and campfires. Summer in Prince Edward County. These are the ingredients for the first ever Old School Bluegrass Camp in Milford next month.

Some of the finest bluegrass musicians in Canada, including Dan Whiteley, Max Heineman, Frank Showman, Chris Coole and Ivan Rosenberg, descend on Milford next month to lead a series of workshops over five days. Participants will learn, share experiences and spend lazy summer days immersed in old-school bluegrass music.

It is the first event of its kind in the County. Maybe anywhere. But the novelty of the event nearly saw it derailed at Shire Hall earlier this month.

Alyssa Hawkins and Jesse Parker are used to forging ahead with initiatives that strike fear in others. In their story, told last fall in the Times, the couple has a track record of risky life adventures. They enjoy living life without a net.

Their lives intersected with Prince Edward County by way of a Kijiji ad a few years ago. The local public school board was looking to dispose of the Milford school—an 11,000- square-foot structure situated on eight acres. Hawkins and Parker bought the property and moved their young family into this rather unconventional home.

Hawkins and Parker have explored a variety ways for the place to help pay for itself.

Recently, they opened a third guest suite—converting two classrooms and a library into slightly an offbeat but enchanting visitor experiences. They have used the school’s gym and stage for a series of music events. With the Old School Bluegrass Camp, they were hoping to create unique event for their unusual home.

But unique is hard—particularly when you need Shire Hall’s blessing.

Neither Parker nor Hawkins thought they needed official sanction from the County. They believed that when they rezoned the property from institutional to residential in 2013, they would be permitted to hold special events like the one proposed, as a home-based business.

But when they began to market and promote the July workshops, a neighbour complained to the County’s bylaw enforcement department with concerns about parking and camping on the property. Hawkins and Parker were told they would face penalties and fines if the event proceeded as planned.

They reached out to their councillor, Steve Ferguson, who suggested they ask council for a temporary exemption from the land-use rules barring the modest workshop.

Earlier this month, Parker told a committee of council, the bluegrass camp was mostly planned as an indoor event, but would likely spill outside at times. He explained how he went door to door in his neighbourhood to describe the event and what it would entail.

“Most were genuinely positive,” recounted Parker. “No one objected to my face.”

Some councillors worried about the slippery slope— that one exemption might turn into two, three or more. Athol councillor Jamie Forrester wanted to know why Parker hadn’t applied in 2013 for zoning that would allow for this kind of event.

“When you bought it, you must have thought about a business plan,” scolded Forrester.

Parker explained he and Hawkins bought the property as their home.

“It really is our home,” said Parker. “We operate a B&B and we’re looking for other ways to make money as a cultural asset. But this is our home.”

Parker repeated his contention that he believed the proposed bluegrass camp fit within the provisions of a home-based business.

Councillor Lenny Epstein pointed to a gap in the County’s planning rules enabling special cultural and creative commercial activities on private property. He pointed to the city of Hamilton, which recognized it needed flexibility in its planning and zoning rules to accommodate these kinds of events and activities.

Commissioner of Engineering, Planning and Works Robert McAuley was already up to speed with the changes in Hamilton and elsewhere. He acknowledged that current County rules run counter to the aims and objectives of the County’s Community Development Strategy and to the forces shaping this community and economy.

“It is worthwhile taking a fresh look at regulations governing special events on private property,” said McAuley. “It is something we need.”

He pointed to recent changes made in Clarington to accommodate such events as a potential blueprint for changes in the County.

“It is working effectively there,” said McAuley.

The commissioner’s comments changed the tone of the debate.

Mayor Robert Quaiff described the request for a five-day exemption “a great compromise.”

“Good on us to help such initiatives,” said Quaiff. Councillor Gord Fox supported the “likeable fellow” wholeheartedly, describing Parker’s event as a good fit with the arts and cultural energy in the County.

Councillor Bill Roberts applauded the commissioner’s initiative, adding that flexibility in land use is a necessary step toward the sustainability of small rural communities.

Forrester continued to complain that changing the rules wasn’t fair to “legitimate” businesses.

“Now it’s a free-for-all,” said Forrester, with customary rhetorical exuberance.

Councillor Janice Maynard worried that a temporary exemption looked like a free pass from rules put in place to protect the enjoyment of neighbouring properties. McAuley assured Maynard the exemption was limited to land use rules only—that rules governing parking, noise and other matters would continue to be enforced.

Roberts suggested his colleagues were wandering too far into the weeds.

“I’m satisfied staff will figure this out,” he said. “It is clear that these kind of events are an essential part of this community’s economy.”

Hawkins and Parker won their exemption— and in doing so, pioneered the development of much needed new rules governing special events on private property.