County News
The show goes on
Council approves rural zoning change to permit music venue
It was a planning meeting like no other. More than 50 comments from residents— including a musical tribute via Zoom, crooning to the character of council member and applicant Sam Grosso. Two big files (five in total). Nearly six hours. Outside Shire Hall, about 75 folks loudly protested the prospect of a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to govern activities at Picton Terminals.
But like a TV series that has run out of plot lines, in this episode, it was one of their own on the docket.
Sam Grosso is an impresario. He’s owned nightclubs in Toronto including the El Mocambo, Cadillac Lounge and Graffiti’s Bar and Grill. The Globe and Mail described Graffiti’s in a 2017 story as “a gritty music room in Kensington Market”.
Nine years ago, he bought a small farm on Rednersville Road, in a leafy neighbourhood on the northwest corner of the County. Soon afterward, he renovated the barn on the rural property and opened Sam’s Place, described on the website as “a unique event space for concerts, weddings, parties, and more.”
“The energy and the spirit in the room is palpable, and you’ll walk out with a smile on your face and a bounce in your step,” exhorts the councillor’s website. “Even after dancing all night.”
Sounds fun.
But when he began selling tickets and staging concerts, the neighbours became alarmed. Sam’s property wasn’t zoned for anything but rural uses. They worried about late-night partying, noise, water, and parking—of a honkytonk on their quiet rural road.
Last year, the County’s Fire Department shut down Sam’s Place for noncompliance with zoning, building code and fire code.
Grosso raged against the closure in a Facebook post: “When the powers that be shut you down, the show must go on, and that’s what I will do. You can shut my venue down, but I will find a way to bring music to the people, and I don’t give rat’s ass how much it costs me.”
But the Ameliasburgh council member— elected just the year before—was already working toward rezoning his property to permit Sam’s Place to reopen.
Grosso’s file came before his fellow colleagues last Wednesday. He recused himself from the discussion, moving to the room next door as Council weighed his fate.
Council heard both the good and the bad. Many spoke of Grosso’s good character and his role in injecting cultural vibrancy into overlooked parts of Toronto. They praised his support for artists, suggesting that Sam’s Place “will become a home base to local and touring musicians, enhancing the local arts scene and providing job opportunities.”
Others highlighted a litany of worries. Late-night concerts in the quiet neighbourhood. Who would monitor and enforce the noise bylaw? Parking? They worried about compatibility between a music and event venue with neighbouring livestock.
Minimum distance separation has thwarted many alternative uses for County barns and resulted in the destruction of some iconic structures since these regulations were enacted in 2008. County Planning staff have concluded, in this case, however, that “due to the size of each [of the neighbour’s] structure, the lack of water supply, and the limited size of the property,” the proposed development is not required to meet MDS rules.
Some worry about the impact a 150-person commercial venue will have on the neighbour’s water supply. Others say the venue does not fit within the County’s Shore Land Designation.
Still, others worry that Grosso’s rezoning will set a precedent for other incompatible uses on undersized lots.
AWKWARD
Outside the immediate neighbourhood, many folks are uneasy about the perception of a sitting council member promoting a land use planning file for his property.
Other levels of government have strict rules governing how their personal interests intersect with their public roles. Provincial and federal members are required to divest business or property interests or move them into blind trusts to eliminate real or perceived conflicts when their business interests may be affected by government policy.
Grosso has, by virtue of his council seat, a unique relationship with his council colleagues. He has unique access to municipal officials and the Shire Hall bureaucracy that other residents and other applicants don’t have.
According to the County’s Clerk, Catalina Blumenberg, Grosso has complied with the rules. She said that the province does not prohibit council members from submitting land planning applications.
She added that the Municipal Act requires that when Council considers such a file, the council member must disclose their interest and shall not take part in the discussion or vote on the matter. Further, the Act stipulates that the member “shall not attempt in any way whether before, during or after the meeting to influence the voting on any such question.”
Clerk Blumenberg added that the municipality had not undertaken a scan of other municipalities to determine if additional safeguards exist at the municipal level.
COUNCIL BACKS ONE OF ITS OWN
When it was Council’s turn to consider the file, the tone was muted, and the comments were more of the walking-on-eggshells variety, no one wishing to be seen as causing trouble for their colleague.
Sophiasburgh councillor Bill Roberts recounted attending a “joyful” performance by Jack DeKeyzer at Sam’s Place and described his fellow councillor as a man of “enormous personal integrity.”
Mayor Steve Ferguson envisioned Sam’s Place as an important addition to the northern part of the County— an economic engine.
But others were a bit more circumspect.
Athol councillor Sam Branderhorst leaned on her experience in theatre, advising her colleagues that she knows how sound carries—and the insulation needed to make a venue soundproof.
“He (Sam Grosso) is a wonderful man,” said Branderhorst. “But there are too many red flags.”
Picton councillor Kate MacNaughton failed to gain support for her motion to defer the decision while asking planning staff to work to find ways to limit the impact of the neighbourhood.
Grosso’s rezoning was approved, with only four council members dissenting.
Sophiasburgh councillor Bill Roberts recounted attending a “joyful” performance by Jack DeKeyzer at Sam’s Place and described his fellow councillor as a man of “enormous personal integrity”.
I date say “enormous personal integrity” is being misused by Councillor Roberts in this particular instance. Either that or he is being facetious. The definition of “Integrity” – Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. “A leader of great integrity”. The following is not my understanding of “Integrity”. Not at all:
Last year, the County’s Fire Department shut down Sam’s Place for noncompliance with zoning, building code and fire code.
Grosso raged against the closure in a Facebook post: “When the powers that be shut you down, the show must go on, and that’s what I will do. You can shut my venue down, but I will find a way to bring music to the people, and I don’t give rat’s ass how much it costs me.”
Councillor Grosso is just that. He is first and foremost the Councillor for this Ward. He was elected by the residents to represent them, and has a sworn duty and obligation to do so, and to forego his own interests in favour of the people who elected him for the four years of his tenure. It would appear that this C”ouncillor’s interest in being elected was solely for his own benefit, and had in no way let the residents he asked to vote for him, know is intentions for their Ward.
From another person under the Comments:
The author then goes on to compare conflict of interest requirements for provincial and federal politicians to those of municipal politicians. You might as well compare a basket of delicious County apples to a bag of PEI potatoes; one has little to do with the other. Since most municipal councils are comprised of local business owners; blind trusts or forced divestments would be antithetical to most, if not all, municipal governments.
This statements sounds just like the last piece of excrement that was given to me by our previous Integrity Commissioner – who also wasn’t aware that the City of Stratford is not anywhere near Prince Edward County. A Conflict of Interest is just that, and I don’t care if someone on our council is a business owner or not. Many on our PEC Council are, and if we want local representation here, then occasionally declaring COI comes with the job. You declare COI each and every single time there is one. If you don’t have the “Integrity” to declare a conflict of interest, then you aren’t capable of doing the job, so don’t bother running for it. In this particular instance Councillor Grosso did the correct thing, and declared his COI. I only wish he’d done so on January 10th, regarding the TRAE Resort application, as he should have done.
That’s good info, Mark, and perhaps that will mean that ultimately, the concerns will not materialize. Evidence such as a decibel meter is the right way to determine these things, for sure. That being said, it’s not always about the volume, but also the nature of the noise. A blue jay screech might exceed decibel levels outside one’s window, but it’s a different sound than a rock band.
Notwithstanding your comments regarding humans not liking change (which of course is very true), there are zoning rules for a reason. And this Council and County Staff have a history of a lack of transparency, and a disregard for public input, despite what they may claim. This tends to be irritating at best, and infuriating at worst. The bottom line is that the public is powerless to resist the will of Council and Staff, it would seem.
I witnessed this application for reasoning meeting from afar, compliments of a live feed on YouTube. Being a retired officer, a previous resident on Rednersville Rd and one who has attended Sam’s Place several times in the past, I had an interest in the outcome.
Naturally, residents had concerns about noise levels. I did too. However on the evening that Sam hosted funk sensations, LMT Connection – their drummer is literally nicknamed “Hard Hittin’ Mark Rodger’s” – I took it upon myself to wander out to the road with a decibel metre. All cars passing by registered a higher decibel level than the sound eminating from the barn. Considering that the property used to be an equestrian centre, the doctor’s presentation on e-coli concerns from groundwater runoff was more than a little laughable. Several brought up fire code violations in the past as if those haven’t all been addressed to the satisfaction of the fire inspector as well as the third party consultant that apparently reviewed the application for an extra measure of accountability between staff, council and Sam.
Humans oppose change and will make mountains of molehills to avoid anything but this prolonged hearing was quite literally one complainer after another writing their own PEC version of Chicken Little. Ironically, quaint and quiet Old Orchard Rd also happens to be in the Hercules flight path between CFB Mountainvirw and CFB Trenton.
Congrats to Sam. I can only imagine his out of pocket expenses to date to make this labour of love project a reality and I’m certain that the locals that choose to chill out and have some fun will thoroughly enjoy the firecode compliant, sound level respecting, memory making event space in time.
For additional coverage by a different County media outlet:
https://www.countylive.ca/rednersville-event-venue-recommended-for-approval-amid-extensive-concerns/
“The 8-4 recorded vote (councillors Sam Branderhorst, Corey Engelsdorfer, Kate MacNaughton and Janice Maynard opposed) came after almost 30 public comments were heard during the three-and-a-half hour agenda item (which ended at 1.15 a.m. the following day). ”
Other quotes:
“The idea of a barn being transformed into an event space in what was described as an established, high-density residential neighbourhood, drew extensive input from members of the public, many of whom were close neighbours opposed to the idea. Also contributing were several technical experts, a doctor, a municipal law professional, an architect, a tourism professor and a septic designer and installer, among them.
It was also noted many nearby residents have spent 18 months trying to deal with all the application documents with some spending their own money conducting studies, reviews and reports. Written public comments (all 336 pages of them) were also available as part of the agenda.
Of the more than 30 speakers at the meeting, about half a dozen joined virtually (including a councillor), and were inaudible on the live-stream due to the County’s on-going technical audio problems.”
Some other comments by actual residents nearby:
“Speaking to the “peaceful, quiet, tranquil road” of Old Orchard Road, Cathy Shank spoke to the noise issue, saying “the music, it’s noise, it’s not music anymore at my end “ noting noise emanating from “one single source for hours on end, daily”.
“With a live stage venue requesting permission, that you can grant or deny, smack dab right in the midst of our homes, pumping out amplified noise (because sound volume is essential to its business), speeches, music, fireworks daily and nightly, multiple times per week for hours on end,” expressed Shank. “And this is their business model in a building with no sound insulation in the walls, the roof or the floor, none, all that noise is produced upstairs, 15 feet off the ground, pulsing over our community. It has already happened. We know noise leakage from this venue is a nuisance, the applicant repeatedly hosted entertainment events, in fact, in defiance of shut down orders.“
Old Orchard Road resident Daniel Mayers, also a musician and legal technologist, was not in support of the application as he spoke to the impacts it would bring on the residential community. “We enjoy this land, enjoy this road and enjoy the tranquility of it. The loop is a community of people who know each other, kids ride their bikes, we stop our cars and chat, it’s a beautiful community.”
“Sam purchased a residence, Sam operated a venue in contravention of the fire code and was shut down by the fire marshal. Sam’s events at Sam’s place can be heard clearly when I leave my house – about 550 metres away you can hear the music clearly,” said Mayers. “Since being shut down, there have been clear concerns Sam’s Place has continued to host events.””
Did these people misrepresent anything?
Are the supporters of the venue neighbours? Seems not.
Is it factually correct that the venue was shut down for fire code violations?
Whole thing still fails the smell test.
Yes. It is factually correct that the venue was shut down for fire code violations. Just check the records at Shire Halls website.
This article is rife with insinuation and wildly short on both facts and context. From the very beginning, the author pulls a selective quote from a 2017 Globe and Mail article about Graffiti’s, the first venue Sam Grosso owned. The problem being, that in 2017, Mr. Grosso didn’t own Graffiti’s. He sold it in 2002; a full 15 years before the Globe’s description of the room. However, without that piece of information, the reader is immediately predisposed to correlate a “gritty music room” that Mr. Grosso had not owned for a decade and a half, with Sam’s Place, a rustic and traditional venue that pays tribute to its rural environment in both design and function.
The author then goes on to compare conflict of interest requirements for provincial and federal politicians to those of municipal politicians. You might as well compare a basket of delicious County apples to a bag of PEI potatoes; one has little to do with the other. Since most municipal councils are comprised of local business owners; blind trusts or forced divestments would be antithetical to most, if not all, municipal governments.
In a section of the article the editor has slyly subtitled “Awkward”, the author adds that the county clerk had not scanned other municipalities to research “additional safeguards [that] exist at the municipal level.” How is that relevant? The municipality of Prince Edward County has no such regulations so nothing improper has occurred. In fact, Mr. Grosso followed rules regarding pecuniary interests to the letter. Throughout the article the author employs every tool at their disposal to throw shade on the proceedings and on Mr. Grosso himself. A “walking-on-eggshells” state mind is conferred upon several councillors’ approach to the motion, with zero evidence; quite the opposite actually. Councillor Roberts recounted an enjoyable night of music and spoke highly of Mr. Grosso. However, the author carefully pull-quotes the word “joyful” and the the words “enormous personal integrity.” I haven’t seen that kind of passive aggressive grammatical manoeuvring since my grade six teacher said he liked my “enthusiasm” but I could benefit from more “structure.”
Finally and perhaps most blatantly, the author omits a glaring conflict of their own. The publisher of the Wellington Times, Corey Engelsdorfer, voted against this motion. Councillors Branderhorst and MacNaughton are noted in opposition and yet somehow, the Times’ publisher is not mentioned at all. I give the author credit for one thing. They have created a perfect journalistic teaching tool on how not to report on municipal politics.
Paying attention to the people who have to live with their elected official’s blatant disregard for “their way of life” and representing only his personal interests would bear closer scrutiny from yourself and others, Sir. This venue had been “shut down” as being illegal and out of compliance, and his response was most inappropriate and disrespectful of his neighbours and constituents. I doubt very much that the majority of Council lives beside or nearby an “Event Venue”. Deputations may be found below, and very very few of the residents are in favour:
https://princeedwardcounty.civicweb.net/FileStorage/EA329BD48AB04DC9895280AAE3B3B6AF-Public%20Comments%20Z14-23%20(Addendum)_Compressed_Redac.pdf
Despite the efforts of two Councillors — Branderhorst and MacNaughton — to hold back this rather flagrant disregard by the applicant (Councillor Grosso) for due process, the remaining Councillors, led by Mayor Ferguson, closed ranks and approved the rezoning over the many objections of local residents and taxpayers.
It’s great that Councillor Roberts “recounted attending a “joyful” performance by Jack DeKeyzer at Sam’s Place”. I wonder how joyful he would be if he actually lived anywhere near Sam’s Place. (He does not. )
And it’s very interesting that “Mayor Steve Ferguson envisioned Sam’s Place as an important addition to the northern part of the County— an economic engine.” An “economic engine”. Really? What will that “engine” generate for County residents and taxpayers — other than the applicant, that is?
Fails the smell test on multiple levels.